James Bond fans who have read Ian Fleming's early novels will be aware that the secret agent's personal choice of wheels came from Crewe and not, as many presume, Gaydon. Yes, Bond was a Bentley fan, and also it seems, not averse to tinkering around under the engine.
In the written versions of Casino Royale and Moonraker, Fleming tells us that Bond's preferential chariot of the time was a 1930's Bentley 4.5-litre fitted with the Amherst Villiers supercharger. Fast-forward to the Thunderball novel and we see that Bond has moved on to a Mark II Continental, in which he upgrades the engine from a 4.5- to a 4.9-litre and then proceeds to fit an Arnott supercharger controlled by a magnetic clutch. Bit of a petrol-head then our James...
Ian Fleming Publishing Ltd. has commissioned Jeffery Deaver, of The Bone Collector fame, to write a new Bond novel. The book will be titled Carte Blanche. Set in this day and age, the contemporary story sees part of the events unravel in Dubai, but of most interest to us is that the world's favourite superspy is once again driving a Bentley, this time a new Continental GT. Packing a 6.0-litre, W12, twin-turbo engine capable of producing 575hp and 700Nm of torque, Commander Bond will have all the power he wants from his present-day locomotive (his pet name for the Mark II Conti).
Perhaps of more concern to the man himself is that with all the modern day electronics and technology under the hood of today's exotica, Bond's skills with a wrench and set of sockets are mostly redundant - unless MI6 gave auto-electrical classes during Espionage 101. Although with the twin-turbocharged W12 kicking out a lot more power than his previous machines, perhaps his thirst for performance will be sated. Let's just hope he doesn't let Mansory put one of their bling-tastic body kits on it...
Carte Blanche is due to be published by Hodder and Stoughton on May 26.