Zao's stunt Jaguar alongside the famous DB5 at auction this month

Sean Connery's Aston Martin isn't the only vehicle going under the hammer on October 27th at RM Auctions.

Lot No. 195: 1998 Jaguar XKR James Bond Special Effects Car

Estimate: £25,000-£35,000

Ford Mustang 302 cu. in. V-8 engine, modified Ford Explorer front suspension unit, subtly flared rear wheel arches, unique offset Detroit 20-inch road wheels and highly modified front under-bonnet body structure.

- Special Effects Car 1 (SFX1)
- Featured in Die Another Day, starring Pierce Brosnan as 007
- One of only four built with four-wheel drive and driven in ice chase scene

Die Another Day, released by MGM Studios and Eon Productions in November 2002, was the 20th film in the James Bond series, the most successful film series of all time. Pierce Brosnan reprised his role as James Bond, Agent 007, for the last time before the franchise returned to the beginning of the 007 timeline with Daniel Craig’s role in Casino Royale.

In typical Bond fashion, Brosnan was shown driving an Aston Martin Vanquish. The villain Zao, played by Rick Yune, drove a highly modified Jaguar XKR equipped with a Gatling gun mounted centrally behind the seats, missiles firing from the front grilles, rocket launchers in the doors and mortars in the boot. No less than eight XKRs were used for filming, all of which were formerly Jaguar Cars engineering development fleet vehicles that were converted by Jaguar’s own Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) in conjunction with Pinewood Studios’ in-house special effects team.

Half of the XKRs were standard two-wheel drive XKRs (some supercharged, some normally aspirated XK8s) with cosmetic modifications. In order to prepare for the dramatic car chase on ice, however, the other four XKRs were built on a completely bespoke four-wheel drive chassis. All eight cars were painted the same green as Jaguar’s Formula 3 racing team with Dorchester grey body kits, an R-performance option interior with Recaro bucket seats, 20-inch silver Detroit-style road wheels and Brembo brakes.

The XKR presented here is one of these eight cars built for filming and has been on loan to the famous National Motor Museum in Beaulieu from Jaguar Cars since December 2003. It is “SFX1,” one of the four Special Effects Cars built on the four-wheel drive chassis. It is powered by a 302 ci (five-litre) Ford Mustang engine and transmission, which was smaller than the regular Jaguar engine and could therefore be moved rearward in the chassis to accommodate the modified Ford Explorer front suspension and four-wheel drive system necessary for filming in Iceland. The car is original and unmodified since the end of filming, as built by Jaguar SVO and Pinewood Film Studios. Being sold directly from Jaguar Heritage, this is the very first time that this blue-chip piece of Bond memorabilia with unquestionable provenance has been offered for sale.

It is a unique piece of movie history and one of the most stunningly designed and dynamic villain’s cars in the history of the Bond franchise. So if you are not the successful buyer of the DB5 from Goldfinger, then perhaps owning this might give you a chancing of obtaining it via other, more sinister means!

Please note, however, that this car was built as a film stunt vehicle and is offered on bill of sale only.

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