WHAT’S THE STORY?

IT was revealed yesterday that the Aston Martin DB10 used in the latest James Bond film, Spectre, had overtaken another of 007’s cars in the chase to find the UK’s favourite automobile in movies and television series.

For years the original Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger was the top-rated car in films, and no wonder – with its amazing gadgets such as machine guns and an ejector seat. The fact that Sean Connery drove it as James Bond may well have contributed to its popularity, but the best Bond since Big Tam, Daniel Craig, does the DB10 justice in Spectre.

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Put it this way, the poll of 2000 people commissioned by Discovery Channel for their Wheeler Dealers: Dream Car series saw the two Aston Martins take almost half of the vote, with a third Bond car, the part-submarine Lotus from The Spy Who Loved Me, in seventh place.

WHAT OTHER CARS MADE THE TOP 10?

THE green Ford Mustang from Bullitt, Will Smith’s Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 from Bad Boys and David Hasselhoff’s talking Trans Am KITT from Knight Rider, rounded out the top five. Then came the 1981 DeLorean seen in Back to the Future, and four Minis came in at eighth and ninth – the three from the 1969 version of The Italian Job were ranked as one entry, and the Mini driven by Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean came after them.

In 10th place was The National’s personal favourite, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Those cars ranked higher were okay, but come on, they couldn’t actually fly!

CHITTY AND BOND – WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?

AS Michael Caine didn’t say in The Italian Job or anywhere else, “not a lot of people know that” but there is a strong connection between Chitty and the the Bond cars.

They were all the creation of writer Ian Fleming who gave Bond a Bentley at first, and only changed to an Aston Martin in Goldfinger, while Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Miracle Car was his children’s novel written for his son Caspar and only published after Fleming’s death from a heart attack in 1964.

WHAT NEARLY MADE THE TOP 10?

HERE’S the rest of the top 20: 11. Dom Toretto’s Dodge Charger (The Fast and Furious); 12. Eleanor, the 1971 Mustang (Gone in 60 Seconds); 13. VW Beetle Herbie (The Love Bug); 14. General Lee (Dukes of Hazzard); 15. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off); 16. 1976 Ford Gran Torino, The Striped Tomato (Starsky & Hutch); 17. Subaru Impreza WRX (Baby Driver); 18. The Ghostbusters’ Hearse (Ghostbusters); 19. 1948 Ford De Luxe Convertible aka Greased Lightning, (Grease); 20. Pontiac Trans Am (Smokey and the Bandit).

ANY GLARING MISSES?

THE most obvious miss is the Batmobile – none of the several versions used in the movies and in the 1960s television series appears anywhere on the list.

The red Ford Mustang driven by Connery as Bond in Diamonds are Forever is another miss, while the flying AMC car in The Man with the Golden Gun (see below) is also not seen on the list.

There are none of Mad Max’s cars, and how could anyone forget the 1966 Ford Thunderbird that flies Thelma and Louise off a cliff?

The 1958 Plymouth Fury in Christine, directed by John Carpenter from the Stephen King novel, is also a bad miss – the story is all about the car – while Gran Torino is the name of a fine Clint Eastwood film with the eponymous car as the key to the plot.

The 1932 Ford Coupe in American Graffiti is an icon of the movies, while the 1970 Dodge Challenger from that underrated movie Vanishing Point surely should have had a mention.

Oh, and the Bluesmobile in The Blues Brothers – how could anyone miss that out?

WHY DO WE LIKE CAR CHASES AND WHAT WAS THE BEST?

JUST as “Chekov’s Gun” says that a pistol in an opening scene will have to be fired, if you put cars in movies then eventually there will be a car chase.

We like car chases because film companies and directors love them.

The very best of them featured many of the cars listed above, so here’s The National’s own list of the best half-dozen movie car chases. We’ve left out all Fast and Furious films because they’re all about car chases. Please feel free to make your personal list and comment on ours.

1. Bullitt – 1968. The cinema’s first true modern car chase. Steve McQueen, who was himself an accomplished motor racing driver, as detective Frank Bullitt in his green Mustang racing up and down and through the streets of San Francisco. Still thrilling.

2. The French Connection – 1971. Gene Hackman as Detective Popeye Doyle in a frenetic dash from station to station in New York. It was the first chase to use a dashboard camera.

3. The Man with the Golden Gun – 1974. Has to be included because of the most amazing stunt, the famous corkscrew jump over a canal.

4. Ronin – 1998. Filmed by director John Frankenheimer, himself an amateur racing driver, this chase features no less than 300 stunt cars in a stunning romp through Paris.

5. The Blues Brothers – 1980. Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues says to his brother Jake, played by John Belushi: “There’s 106 miles to Chicago. We’ve got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it’s dark out, and we’re wearing sunglasses.” There then ensues the most destructive car chase in movie history.

6. The Bourne Supremacy – 2004. Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in a Russian taxi in Moscow. What’s not to like?