Bond Changing Brands To Jaguar?

MI6.co.uk has an interesting report that 007 may be dropping his Aston Martin for a Jaguar in the next movie. I hadn't really thought about it amidst all the talk about Ford trying to sell off Aston Martin, but the article points out that the Bond producers still have a deal with Ford for Bond 22. Obviously, if Ford no longer own Aston Martin, that won't be the car they choose to showcase in the movie. I heard on the radio today that Ford have no plans to sell Jaguar any time soon, so the story holds water. I'd much rather see Bond stay in an Aston, but if he has to switch, then Jaguar is a good option. Certainly better than BMW! I know all these companies are owned by foreign conglomorates, but for me Bond has to be in a car that's essentially British. And Jaguar is, and they have some nice models on the market.

Although James Bond has never driven a Jaguar in the movies, the brand has had some interesting connections with 007 over the years. In Fleming's Goldfinger, Bond opts for the Aston Martin DBIII over a Jag when choosing from MI6's motor pool. In 1986, die-cast toymakers Corgi (producers of the famous Aston Martin DB5 model with working ejector seat, among many, many other Bond cars over the years) took matters into their own hands and designed a Bond car to present to the film producers. Their car? A Jaguar XJS with a rear ejector. The entire back section separated from the car, like Largo's yacht. The producers, of course, went with an Aston Martin instead for The Living Daylights. You can see pictures of the concept car in Dave Worrall's book The James Bond Diecasts of Corgi. When Raymond Benson took over as author of the Bond novels, he put Bond behind the wheel of a Jaguar XK8 with loads of Q-Branch features. The car debuted in his second 007 adventure, The Facts of Death. So if Daniel Craig drives a Jaguar in Bond 22, it won't be the first time Bond's been in a Jag!