British Cars in Motion--From Bond and Beyond

If you want to see British cars in action, here’s a rundown of their appearances in popular films:

“Dr. No”--A Sunbeam Alpine speeds Agent 007 through his first car chase.

“From Russia With Love”--Sean Connery’s Bentley features a then-futuristic car phone.

“Goldfinger”--The Aston Martin DB5 sports forward-firing Browning machine guns, rear-firing water jets and oil slick, bulletproof windows, revolving license plates, an ejection seat, hidden homing device and tire shredders.

“The Spy Who Loved Me”--Roger Moore prefers the Lotus Esprit, a submersible that packs a periscope, radar, missiles in the back hatch and a self-exploding alarm.

“For Your Eyes Only”--The gentleman entertains twins: a white Lotus Turbo Esprit and another in red.

“The Living Daylights”--Timothy Dalton warms to an Aston Martin Volante with stabilizing skis, turbo thrust, jet booster, forward-facing missiles, wheel-hub-mounted laser, spiked tires and a self-destruct button.

“Goldeneye”--Pierce Brosnan drives three DB5s, along with what one picture car coordinator calls, “that clown car. It’s sacrilege to put Bond in a BMW.”

“Austin Powers . . .”--Mike Myer’s 1967 Jaguar XKE with custom-painted Union Jack was converted from a left-side drive; the steering wheel is now on the right. Groovy.

“The Avengers”--Uma Thurman is stylish in a powder blue Jag XKE hardtop. Ralph Fiennes relies on a Bentley convertible.

“The Borrowers”--John Goodman battles the small folk in postwar England. All the cars are Morris Minors.

“Mr. Bean”--Rowland Atkinson bustles about in a lime green Mini.

“Gattaca”--British Rovers go electric as police cars of the future.

“The Big Picture”--Kevin Bacon goes Metropolitan.

“Cannonball Run”--Roger Moore brings back Bond’s DB5.

“Superman”--Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) gets the story on Metropolis in a Met.

“Love Story”--Ryan O’Neal takes Ali MacGraw to meet Mom in an MG TC.

“The Italian Job”--In perhaps the best car chase ever, multiple Minis are loaded onto a moving van at road speed.

“Two for the Road”--Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney share happier days in a 1952 MG TD.

“A Shot in the Dark”--Peter Sellers and Elke Sommer escape a nudist camp in a wicker-sided Radford Mini.

“The Prisoner”(TV) --Even the Lotus 7 can’t get Number Six (Patrick McGoohan) out of town.

“The Avengers” (TV)--Emma Peel (Diana Rigg) is smashing in her powder blue convertible Lotus Elan.

“Get Smart” (TV)--Don Adams is dashing inside a Sunbeam Alpine/Tiger. Outside, it’s a different story.