When did you realize you were really into cars? Was it a personal experience, a TV show, or a movie? The media does a great job at introducing, influencing, or even bolstering the love of something. For millennials, a lot of their early-onset love of all things planes, trains, and automobiles could be traced back to Mighty Machines or even Top Gear.
For a lot of people, their realization moment was James Bond with either an Aston Martin or a BMW. James Bond, if you’ve been living under a rock your entire life, is a fictional British secret agent. He’s known for shaken (not stirred) martinis, getting the girl, having the coolest/latest tech, and most importantly, always having the coolest car. A lot of what he drives is typically unobtainable for most, but there is one you could set your sniper on that would help you look the part.
What Makes A Car Feel Like It’s A Bond Car?
While not every car earns the right to become a Bond car, some cars existed solely for the Bond films themselves, like the Aston Martin DB10. Some were “run-of-the-mill,” like the BMW Z3 or the Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. These cars all had one thing in common: a je ne sais quoi, a flair, if you will. A drama and masculine bad-ass-ery that could only be found in a Bond car.
The Psychology Of Driving Something That Turns Heads
There’s an undeniable shift that happens when you get into something that has two doors and a big engine. Heads turn, people wave you down, and some people will even try to race you in a straight line at the light. These special vehicles are attention grabbers, but in the best way possible. You could make someone else’s day, or even week, with what you’re driving. It’s a magnet for all things good. Not to mention, it’s typically always fun to drive.
Speed, Style, And The Illusion Of Danger
The most compelling of Bond cars, for example, don’t always have to look or feel dangerous. For example, the BMW Z8 was featured in the 1999 Bond classic, The World is Not Enough. It’s wide haunches, low stance, and rounded cut lines with more modern styling in the tail lamps and side profile — you would never expect it to have machine guns in the hood or a smoke screen in the back.
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The James Bond Car Formula
While we’ve already left breadcrumbs denoting what we believe to be what a Bond car should be, there’s really a simple formula. The car itself needs to have a riveting powertrain (V8 to V12 preferably), a design language that can simultaneously masquerade viciousness with sophistication, and finally, a clear want for the vehicle, not just something that’s defaulted to. The Aston Martin DB5 is the perfect example of this formula that recently sold for $1.5 to $2 million. This Aston is the most prolific Bond vehicle, being featured in Goldfinger and No Time to Die.
Why You Don’t Need An Aston To Feel The Fantasy
Bond cars have a personality all their own. They’re quite frankly another character in the movie franchise themselves, but not everybody needs to drive a pricey Aston just to elicit the same emotional response. While the aforementioned vehicles cost as much as a house, there are some, like the Ferrari 355 GTS (featured in GoldenEye), which has an asking price of around $80,000, and the Sunbeam Alpine from Dr. No has a listing price of $25,000 to $45,000, depending on its condition.
Finding That Sweet Spot Between Exotic And Attainable
Everything’s about balance, and finding the sweet spot for the perfect spy car can be tricky. You want something that isn’t necessarily going to cost you an arm and a leg at the mechanic, but you want it to be cool enough that it’ll turn heads. It’s also not uncommon that Bond has driven American muscle cars as well, which embody a different kind of cool.
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The Corvette C3 Is The Affordable Sports Car That Makes You Feel Like James Bond Every Day
The Chevrolet Corvette C3 was produced from 1968 to 1982, with over 542,000 produced. It’s the longest-running production span of any Corvette to date. It also saw some of the best changes ever made to a Corvette. It basically features all the previously mentioned features from the needed formula to give you a proper Bond car.
A Shape So Dramatic It Came Straight From Q Branch
Quite frankly, the Corvette C3’s silhouette is unique and unmistakable. You immediately know it’s a C3 Corvette with just one glance. Its Coke-bottle design features a tapered rear and a hood that goes on for as many miles as you should be driving it. It also featured a T-top roof that could be removed in under a minute and stored behind the seats, a feature that would influence future Corvettes as well.
Up To 300 Horses At Your Disposal
There’s almost a literal catalog of engines that were available in this sports coupe, with 19 different engine codes to choose from. There’s also a weird four-door variant? The 1969 model offered seven different options along with the base 5.7-liter small block that made 300 ponies, as well as the legendary L88 big-block that made an unbelievable (for the time) 430 horsepower. Unfortunately, this was also around during the emissions apocalypse, which featured some engines that made a measly 165 horsepower. The most popular of all these engines was the LT1 variant from 1970 to 1972.
1970-1972 C3 Corvette LT1 Specs
|
Powertrain |
5.7-liter 90-degree V8 |
|
Drivetrain |
RWD |
|
Transmission |
4-speed manual or 3-speed automatic |
|
Horsepower |
370 horsepower |
|
Torque |
380 lb-ft |
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Making The C3 Your Everyday Sports Car
Living with a classic sports car might seem daunting, but you can make anything work with the right disposition. The cockpit is only 49.8 inches wide, but it gives you a sense of thrill and excitement thanks to its low and tilted seating position. Factory air conditioning was also available, so be sure to find one including it if you want comfort.
What Ownership Really Looks Like
You can find a drive-ready C3 Corvette for as little as $15,000 or as much as $30,000. Remember, there were over half a million made, so the supply is there. According to Classic.com, the average sale across all C3’s is around $37,692. Parts availability is pretty exceptional for the years 1973-1977 on websites like Corvette Central or Zip Corvette. These are also considered to be the cheapest years to maintain on an annual basis.
Driving It Daily
While it doesn’t come with any machine guns mounted to the roof or hood, or a deployable smoke screen from the back end, what it does offer is the attention you’d want from people who appreciate something as iconic as the Corvette C3. It sits at just 47.8 inches tall, which is lower than a modern 911, and that, at this point, is unique in and of itself. Although there’s no bad guy to go after in it, you can get away just as fast as most modern sports cars and look even cooler than most while doing it.
Sources: GM, Bring a Trailer, Corvette Central, Zip Corvette, 007.com, Classic.com, Hagerty