The new James Bond film ‘Spectre’ is opening in U.S. theaters Friday and will thrill fans with its fast-paced car chase.
The villain’s orange Jaguar C-X75 arguably steals the show from Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 — but viewers probably won’t recognize the supercar since it’s not a normal production model.
Jaguar Land Rover originally unveiled the hybrid concept car in 2010 but never took it to market, saying the “global economic landscape [did not] support the introduction of a supercar.”
Aston Martin traditionally supplies cars for James Bond, while the bad guys often drive Land Rovers and Range Rovers.
But Jaguar Land Rover nearly missed out when Bond director Sam Mendes was looking for a bad-ass supercar for the chase scene, because he thought the company didn’t have an appropriate vehicle.
When they showed Mendes the C-X75, he was sold, said David Fairbairn, who was in charge of providing Jaguar Land Rover vehicles to the set.
“I believe people are going to be talking more about this car than the other car, just because it’s aggressive. It’s in your face,” said Fairbairn.
This marks the first time that both Jaguar and Aston Martin are keeping their star Bond cars out of production.
Even though the C-X75 won’t be available for sale, its appearance in ‘Spectre’ will still give Jaguar Land Rover’s brand a boost by demonstrating its “cool” factor, Fairbairn believes.
Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer has also told CNN that it’s critical his firm is associated with the Bond brand.
“Bond without Aston and Aston without Bond, it almost doesn’t make sense,” he said.
Bond is a global blockbuster
James Bond is one of the most popular movie franchises in history and has raked in billions of dollars at the box office.
It cost roughly $250 million to create ‘Spectre,’ making it one of the most expensive films ever.
So far the film has brought in roughly $80 million from international markets, according to Box Office Mojo.
‘Spectre’ debuted in the U.K. and Ireland on Oct. 26.
