The Spy Who Loved Cars: James Bond Movie Cars Gallery

Washington D.C.’s International Spy Museum relocated in 2019 to a new, larger facility close to the capital’s Smithsonian Museum district on the National Mall, and it is putting the extra space to work with the opening of “Bond in Motion,” an exhibit of the vehicles James Bond has used to thwart evil in the movie franchise.

The exhibit features cool British classics from Jaguar and Aston Martin, along with some BMWs that snuck into MI6’s arsenal during the Pierce Brosnan 007 years. There are also vehicles that Bond drove that he picked up along the way, such as the AMC Hornet bayou jump car from The Man With the Golden Gun and the three-wheeled Honda ATC 90 Bond rode in Diamonds are Forever.

It is not only wheeled transportation; Bond movie boats and aircraft are included. There are even two submarines! In all, "Bond in Motion" features 17 different vehicles for the exhibit, which was produced in cooperation with EON Productions Limited, Danjaq, and the Ian Fleming Foundation.

“The first taste the public gets of espionage is through pop culture – the movies, TV series, and books that animate our imaginations and encourage our audiences to dream big,” said Amanda Ohlke, Director of Adult Programming at the International Spy Museum. “Even real intelligence agencies devising spy tools have found inspiration through these captivating gadget-filled movies and vehicles, sometimes propelling fictional inventions from fantasy into reality.”

Visitors can imagine that they are being held in a supervillain’s lair, where they have the opportunity to rap on the glass of the bad guy’s shark tank to see what happens. The museum also developed a pair of interactive touch-screen activities that let visitors equip a Bond car for a mission and stage driving stunts for the films using touch-screen systems.

The Build Your Own Stunt activity at the "Bond in Motion" exhibit. DAN CARNEY

“Everyone has a favorite Bond car and these vehicles have been touchstones of contemporary culture for decades.” shares Kathryn Keane, Vice President of Exhibitions and Collections at the International Spy Museum. “The vehicles in this new exhibit are as inventive and cool as the very real gadgets and tools we display in the Spy Museum. We’re thrilled to juxtapose these fantastic fictional feats of innovation with the premiere collection of authentic espionage artifacts in our permanent exhibit.”

007’s most famous car, his 1964 Aston Martin DB5, is not actually part of the exhibit. Bond, and that armed Aston, are so relevant to spycraft that the car is a permanent exhibit at the museum, where it sits in the lobby, greeting all museum guests.

Bond In Motion runs through April 2025 and costs $12 for admission separate from entry to the museum’s regular exhibits.