BMW 7 Series 1997 News

There's always a great deal of interest any time one of the cars used in a 007 movie is offered for sale. And you can probably multiply that by 59 times for the collection of Bond vehicles owned by US real estate mogul Michael Dezer.Dezer is known for  development on a grand scale: nearly the entire suburb of Chelsea in NewYork, and several massive projects in Florida including partnerships with Donald Trump for the 900 million Trump Towers, $600 million Trump Grande Ocean Resort and Residences and the $166 million Trump International Hotel and Tower.And Florida is also where he garages his collection of 1800 vehicles, including the 59 genuine Bond ones he's selling, each of which has appeared in one of the movies.The catch is that Dezer insists they be bought as one lot, for US$33 million ($37 million). But the buyer will have a fairly comprehensive sample across the Bond series.Among the 59 are a Fairey Huntress boat used in 1963's From Russia With Love and an Audi A5 and Land Rover Defender used in the most recent film, Skyfall, for the kickstarter car chase scenes.From films in between, there are a brace of Aston Martin DB5 coupes, one of which helmed by Pierce Brosnan for Goldeneye -- and the Russian T55 tank from the film. The famed Lotus Esprit S1 that morphed into a submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me is also one of star vehicles, as are the armoured and armed BMW 750iL from Tomorrow Never Dies, and the Jaguar XKR from Die Another Day.There are also more everyday wheels, including the Citroen 2CV from For Your Eyes Only, and a replica of the AMC Hornet from The Man With The Golden Gun. The collection has been on display at the Dezer Musuem in Miami, and it's likely the buyer will do something similar once the deal is done.And while it will make a little space in the Dezer garage, there are still plenty of interesting cars staying there, including the 1948 Ford from Grease,  the 1981 DeLorean from Back to the Future, the Ghostbusters 1959 Cadillac, an original Batmobile, the Lamborghini Social Experiment Project AU 79, and many, many more.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

While those super expensive Aston Martins are out of the reach of 99.99% of collectors, there are other cars used in the movies and driven by 007 that will appeal to those with more modest budgets.How about a 1996 Z3 BMW? It appeared in Golden Eye and while it only was on screen for a minute or two they are cheap. A quick look on Carsguide suggests $11,000 will get you into one and I'm sure with a bit of arm twisting you could reduce that even more. Hairdressers paid over $70,000 when they were new.If a sports car is not your style, then there is always the 1997 BMW 750iL that Bond drove with his phone in Tomorrow Never Dies. When new BMW dealers were asking punters to part with $265,000. Right now depreciation is your BFF and you can snatch a high mileage example for under $7000. Be cautious though, it might be well shaken and mightily stirred.For a bit of Italian flavour, 1983 the Alfa GTV6 which 007 used in the movie Occtopussy makes for a cunning alternative. Some sell for as low as $3000 but good ones go for mid-teens. If something British is more to your liking, then what about the Triumph Stag? Bond drove a yellow one in Diamonds Are Forever while he was impersonating a diamond smuggler called Peter Franks. Around $15,000 seems a likely starting point for negotiations to get you into a true classic.Another British choice is the Sunbeam Alpine, which Bond drove in the first movie, Dr No. These are fabulous looking little convertibles. My neighbour in London had one and always referred to it as "the real Bond car". They range from about $16,000 all the way up to $40,000 depending on condition. As an aside, the Alpine was also the car of choice in the Get Smart TV series.But I'm saving the best two for last. In Man with the Golden Gun, Bond drives a red 1974 Rambler Hornet hatchback through the famous corkscrew aerial jump. Although the coupe never made it to Australia, 1,825 four door Hornets were built and sold here between 1971 and 1975. Many have been hot-rodded, but unmolested examples sell for less than $10,000 and are a bargain.So that leaves the red 1971 Mustang Mach 1 from Diamonds are Forever. A good one will set you back about $40,000 and there are plenty around. And yes, I know that's six times the price of the 750 BMW, but it looks way cooler!David Burrell is the editor of www.retroautos.com.au 

Michael Schumacher retired with seven world championships, but 007 is up to 21 movies — with six different macho men in the role — and still going hard.During the past quarter-century and in 21 official films, Bond has been the target of more bad guys on wheels than anyone else in cinema history, yet he has always managed to escape without a scratch.And he has often pulled a nifty U-turn on the opposition with some sort of car trickery, from concealed machine guns on a 1960s Aston Martin to an '80s Lotus Esprit that morphed into a submarine — and even a remote-controlled BMW 7 Series in the '90s.Now he's back for the noughties, and doing it again in the remake of Casino Royale, which opened in cinemas just before Christmas. And he's back in an Aston Martin, just like the early days.The hype for the new 007 movie got me thinking not only about Bond's wheelwork in the latest British supercar, but also the dream car of my childhood: a scale model of the Aston Martin DB5 Bond drove in the 1960s.It came with all the Bond gear — revolving number plates, concealed machine guns, tyre-slashers, a bulletproof rear shield and even an ejector seat.In 1965, Corgi released its scale model of the gadget-laden DB5, and by 1968 nearly four million copies had been sold.It remains Corgi's best-known model, and I couldn't afford it.The release of the 21st-century Casino Royale has triggered a lot of talk about 007 and cars and movies.The model-making machine is already rolling again, with scaled-down copies of the DBS and even re-done — but de-gadgeted — replicas of the original DB5. And this time, there was a tiny Aston in my Christmas stocking.It's worth looking at what Bond cameos have done for car companies.BMW experienced plenty of benefit when it signed a multi-movie deal that began with its baby Z3 convertible. The world saw the car first when it was driven on the big screen by Bond. That deal continued with the Z8 convertible and the controversially styled 7, and even a BMW motorcycle.But then Britain bounced back for the last of Pierce Brosnan's appearances as Bond, when he slid back into an Aston and the baddies strapped into a rocket-equipped Jaguar.This time around, Agent 007 is driving a gorgeous new DBS, and there's even a special appearance by an original DB5.A poll has been conducted for the television series Top Gear on the most popular car chase in Bond movie history. And the winner is ... no, not the Aston. Not a Jaguar, nor the Lotus, nor even one of the BMWs.First choice was a crazy little Citroen 2CV that suffered all sorts of punishment — including being cut in half — when it was driven by Roger Moore in the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only. The four-wheeled co-stars:Dr No (1962): Sunbeam Alpine, Chevrolet Bel AirconvertibleFrom Russia With Love (1963): Bentley Mark IVGoldfinger (1964): Aston Martin DB5, Rolls-Royce, Mercedes 190SL, Lincoln Continental, Ford Mustang convertible, Rolls-Royce Phantom IIIThunderball (1965): Aston Martin DB5, Ford Mustang convertible, BSA Lightning motorcycle, gyrocopter1967 You Only Live Twice: Toyota 2000 GT, BMW CSOn Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969): Aston Martin DBS, Mercury Cougar, Bentley S2 Continental, Rolls-Royce CornicheDiamonds Are Forever (1971): Ford Mustang Mach 1, Triumph Stag, moon buggyLive And Let Die (1973): double-decker London bus, Chevrolet Impala convertible, MiniMokeThe Man With The Golden Gun (1974): AMC Hornet and Matador, Rolls-Royce Silver ShadowThe Spy Who Loved Me (1977): Lotus Esprit, Wetbike concept, Ford Cortina Ghia, Mini MokeMoonraker (1979): Bentley Mark IV, Rolls-Royce SilverWraithFor Your Eyes Only (1981): Citroen 2CV, Lotus Esprit Turbo, Rolls-Royce Silver WraithOctopussy (1983): Mercedes-Benz 250 SE, BMW 5 Series, Alfa Romeo GTVA View To A Kill (1985): Renault taxi, Ford LTD, Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, Chevrolet Corvette C4The Living Daylights (1987): Aston Martin DBS and V8 Vantage, Audi 200 QuattroLicence To Kill (1989): Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Kenworth petrol tankerGoldenEye (1995): BMW Z3, Aston Martin DB5, Russian tank, Ferrari 355Tomorrow Never Dies (1997): Aston Martin DB5, BMW 750iL, BMW R1200C motorcycleThe World Is Not Enough (1999): BMW Z8, Rolls-Royce Silver ShadowDie Another Day (2002): Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar XKR, Ford Thunderbird convertibleCasino Royale (2006): Aston Martin DBS and DB5, Jaguar E-type roadster, Fiat Panda 4x4, Ford Transit, Ford Mondeo