Bond in Motion brought four dozen awesome cars and hundreds of memorabilia to Brussels in one of the most spectacular James Bond exhibitions ever assembled. The organisers promised 45 original vehicles used in the James Bond movies, including cars, motorbikes, planes and helicopters.
This show has been around for a while, and after successful editions to other famous museums, like Petersen in California and Beaulieu in the UK, Bond in Motion arrived in Brussels in December (for more info, check out their website). The exhibition is hosted in Palais 1 of the Brussels Expo (Palais 1) and runs until 14 May 2023. Bond in Motion proved to be an excellent addition to the Autosalon 2023. It already made quite an entrance at the InterClassics Brussels classic car show with a stage featuring two cars.
The preparations were justified: this is probably the most comprehensive James Bond exhibition ever, created to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the movie franchise. While the character was created in 1953 by Ian Fleming, the franchise moved to the silver screen in 1962 with the first theatrical movie Dr No.
The producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman purchased the filming rights to Fleming’s novels in 1961. Since then, they have built a multibillion-dollar franchise around it. They released a new movie every 2-4 years, always making headlines. Throughout the decades, the franchise successfully turned around several times, remaining up to date by always reflecting the zeitgeist.
The franchise underwent many changes, wearing down 6 actors and many more directors. The 25 movies scored six Oscars and many more nominations and earned over $20 billion (inflation-adjusted) from box-office receipts alone.
James Bond’s character became a cultural icon and point of reference, including comedies and parodies, like the 1967 movie Casino Royale with Peter Sellers, the 1983 movie Never Say Never Again (casting Sean Connery, who was released from the franchise by then), Spy Hard from 1996 with Leslie Nielsen and Rowan Atkinson’s Johnny English series (three movie series alone with this character).
This is nothing compared to what the official productions offered. State-of-the-art effects, iconic actors, award-winning theme songs and unforgettable experience.
The Bond in Motion exhibition honours this extravaganza by showcasing over 50 vehicles from all 25 James Bond films.
Vehicles include several original pieces like the Aston Martin DB5 from the Goldfinger, the Superleggera DBS from No Time to Die, the burnt Jaguar CX-75 concept from Spectre or the armed-to-the-teeth Jaguar XK8 driven by Zao in Die another day.
And not just the hero cars, as you can also witness the 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III of Auric Goldfinger, the 1948 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith from Spectre or the Chevrolet Bel Air used in the Cuba scene in No Time to Die. These cars are usually presented with a poster background and an information screen to recall the vehicle’s most important on-screen moment.
Beyond cars, the exhibition featured other iconic vehicles like the Cello Case used as a sled in Living Daylights, the Q Boat from The World is Not Enough and the Little Nellie helicopter from You Only Live Twice.
The cars, helicopters, motorbikes, planes and submarines are surrounded by props, models, set photos and gadgets from the Bond Archive. You will see an immense collection of memorabilia encompassing dozens of items from small-scale models and objects, a model of the amphibious boats from Die Another Day, Scaramanga’s flying kit car or a diorama recalling the iconic headquarters of MI6 (the SIS Building at Vauxhall Cross).
On the other end of the scale, we encountered a few room-sized decorations, like the Tube cars from Skyfall or an actual helicopter wreck.
The next article will walk you through our favourite vehicles, sets and memorabilia from the show.
If you wish to see it yourself, you have time to catch up with the exhibition until 14 May 2023.
