Jay Leno Bought James Bond’s First Car

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Some people love vintage classic cars. Other enthusiasts ogle cutting-edge supercars. A select few cherish both equally; Jay Leno and James Bond are two such car buffs. Jay Leno loves to restore pieces of automotive history and can also appreciate modern technological advances from companies such as Aston Martin. Agent 007, was a gear head since Ian Fleming’s first Bond book: he cherished his old car and enjoyed taking the newest machines out for a spin. Here are two vehicles–one old and one new–both James Bond and Jay Leno own.

James Bond’s 1930 4.5-Litre Blower Bentley

1930 Bentley Blower 4.5-litre | Michael Cole/Corbis via Getty Images

In Ian Fleming’s 1950s novels, 007 Agent James Bond is a retired race car driver and World War Two veteran. His prized possession is a 1930 Bentley with a 4.5-Litre engine, fitted with an Amherst-Villiers engine.

Fleming introduces this car as part of James Bond’s backstory in the first novel, Casino Royale. Bond remembers buying it nearly new, as a teenager, in 1933. He also stored it away carefully to protect it from bombing during the war. It is a convertible coupe, finished in battleship grey. It even features French Marchal headlamps.

Bond says he keeps the car in good shape and drives it hard. By the 1950s, the Bentley is considered a relic, but he knows no contemporary cars are as powerful. He lovingly refers to it as a “locomotive.” Sure enough, it serves him well in journeys and car chases until he crashes it and must replace it.

Jay Leno’s 1930 27-Litre Engine-Swapped Bentley

James Bond (and Ian Fleming) had taste ahead of his time: Modern collectors consider the “Blower Bentley” the pinnacle of British pre-war racing cars. Unfortunately, Bentley only fit 55 of these cars with superchargers, and surviving examples are worth over a million pounds.

Jay Leno’s 1930 Bentley car benefits from an engine-swap James Bond would approve of. An engineer named Bob Petersen fit Leno’s Bentley with a 27-litre engine from a Spitfire airplane. The engine makes 650-700 horsepower and “loads” of torque,” which is essential when the resulting vehicle weighs three tons.

Petersen built Leno’s car with modern fuel injection, an automatic transmission, and electric power steering to make it slightly easier to drive on the road. Unlike James Bond’s car, Leno’s Bentley is a proper four-seater convertible.

James Bond’s Aston Martin DBS V12

This is a publicity photo of a green Aston Martin DBS V12 grand tourer driving down the highway. This is one car both James Bond and Jay Leno own.
The Aston Martin DBS V12 | Aston Martin

2006’s Casino Royale was Daniel Craig’s first outing as James Bond, and Aston Martin set him up with a brand new car: A pre-production 2007 DBS V12. It was a two-door luxury coupe in the tradition of British grand tourers. Its 5.9-Litre AM11 V12 engine makes 510 horsepower and 420 lb-ft. of torque. For his first cars as 007, Bond opted for the six-speed manual transmission, silver paint, and a black leather interior.

During Casino Royale, James Bond wrecks this DBS in spectacular fashion. The film crew installed a nitrogen cannon behind the driver’s seat to flip the car in the air. The stunt set a Guinness World Record when the car rolled over seven times. 

James Bond prefers the Aston Martin DBS; he chooses to drive a nearly identical car in the next film: Quantum of Solace.

Jay Leno Bought 007’s Aston Martin DBS V12

A fan of lightweight British sports cars, Leno was instantly attracted to the Aston Martin DBS. So Jay Leno bought himself James Bond’s car: a 2009 Quantum of Solace special edition. 

Leno swoons over the details of his DBS, calling the exhaust note “intoxicating” and waxing poetic about the carbon fiber rotors that never suffer brake fade. 

 It is no secret Jay Leno appreciates sound engineering: he was impressed that Aston Martin managed to keep the car’s weight to 3,480 pounds while having “all the amenities you would expect of a high-end English sports car.” Overall, he sums the DBS up as, “A pretty fantastic car.”

RELATED: Why Jay Leno Doesn’t Own A Single Ferrari

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Will the Mercedes-Benz G-Class Professional Line Exterior Be Available to Buy in the U.S.?

by Gabrielle DeSantis

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class is an SUV that provides a delightful combination and world-class luxury and high-level off-road capabilities. If you want to head out into the wilderness without sacrificing comfort and a premium lifestyle, then the G-Class is for you. For a more rugged off-road look, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a Class Professional Line Exterior model. Will it be available to buy in the U.S.?

Mercedes-Benz G-Class Professional Line Exterior: Limited to overseas markets 

Mercedes-Benz G-Class Professional Line Exterior | Mercedes-Benz

Aspiring G-Class Professional Line Exterior buyers will be disappointed to learn the Mercedes-Benz G-Class Professional Line Exterior is unlikely to be available to buy in the U.S. For the 2022 model year, Mercedes-Benz dropped the G-Class models from its American lineup. Also, the G-Class Professional Line Exterior comes equipped with a 350d diesel engine, which is unlikely to be offered in the U.S.

Mercedes-Benz G-Class Professional Line Exterior design features

The G-Class originally was a military vehicle with serious off-roading chops. In recent years, the G-Class, while beautiful, deviated from its origins. However, the Professional Line Exterior pays homage to the G-Class roots with a rugged design that signals that it’s ready for off-road action.

The Professional Line Exterior ditches some of the features of recent G-Class models, such as the chrome accents, side exhausts, and 22-inch alloy wheels. It replaces them with 18-inch 5-wheels with beefier tires, front and rear mudflaps, and headlights with stone guard grilles. 

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In addition to features that elevate its off-road performance, the Professional Line Exterior offers features that improve its utility. With the roof rack, you can mount a wide variety of accessories to make the most of your outdoor adventures, such as a tent, bicycle, or kayak. With a tent, the Professional Line Exterior can easily be converted into an off-road camper van. Also, the rear door of the Professional Line Exterior features a spare wheel holder. Additionally, the Professional Line Exterior can be equipped with a towing hitch. 

While the emphasis of the Professional Line Exterior is on off-road prowess, it still has many convenience and luxury features. This includes the same standard features as other G-Class models, such as the panoramic cockpit, leather upholstery, a sunroof with heat-rejecting Class, and a rear-seat entertainment system. Also, with the 64-color ambient lighting system, you can create the perfect mood for your journeys.

Customization options for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class Line Exterior

Passenger's side rear angle view of orange Mercedes-Benz G-Class Professional Line Exterior
Mercedes-Benz G-Class Professional Line Exterior | Mercedes-Benz

Customers have a choice of three different interior options for the G-Class Line Exterior: Standard, Exclusive, and Superior. Also, with the G manufaktur customization process, you customize the G-Class Line Exterior in many different ways to suit your individual tastes. This includes various exterior and interior design elements, as well as paint color options. The hue that’s in the two G-Class Line Exterior photos is called Copper Orange Magno.

RELATED: The Mercedes-Benz Concept EQG: The G Wagon Goes Electric

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No, 25% of Ford Bronco Buyers Didn’t Get the Manual Transmission

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Ford answered the call of enthusiasts by adding a manual option to the new Ford Bronco, and it seems that paid off. However, is the news that 25% of reservation holders opted for a manual Bronco? Nope, the initial number was misconstrued.

Does the Ford Bronco come in manual?

Looking for a manual Ford Bronco? | Ford

Ford announced at the end of 2020 that the brand would be adding a manual option for the 2021 Ford Bronco. According to the brand, reservation holders were clear that a manual Bronco was requested. The high-performance Sasquatch package was made available two and four-door Broncos with a manual transmission.

“The Bronco community spoke and we heard them. Our team moved quickly to add Sasquatch with a manual transmission – another example of our focus on giving customers the best possible off-road vehicles and accessories that we can.”

Mark Grueber | Ford Bronco consumer marketing manager

Ford said that this made the Bronco the only 4×4 vehicle with a seven-speed manual and 25-inch tires in its class. The manual transmission coupled with the Sasquatch makes the Bronco even more capable off-road. Unfortunately, the Sasquatch manual is delayed until 2022. The news recently has been that a quarter of all orders have been a manual. Ford responded to The Drive noting that the overall number was 15%, not 25%. About 25% of two-door Bronco orders are for the manual transmission.

Are all the new Broncos manual?

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Not all of the new Broncos are manual, but Ford hopes the number will go up. The company has seen some drama with the Bronco production, but so has every other automaker this year. Ford Authority reports that the manual is only available with the less popular 2.3L EcoBoost engine and not the 2.7L EcoBoost V6. Ford revealed earlier this year that the Bronco had racked up about 125,000 orders. About 66% of the initial reservations converted into actual orders. About 50% of current orders opted for the Sasquatch package.

Almost 75% of current orders have opted for the four-door model, and about 60% of those opted for the V6 mentioned above. The higher trim levels, Outer Banks, Badlands, Wildtrak, and First Edition, account for about 70% of orders. There is a good variety of new Broncos on order, with about 15% of those two-door Bronco orders opting for a manual.

15% isn’t a bad percentage either way

RELATED: One Critic Called the 2021 Ford Bronco Sport A “Tarted-up Ford Escape”

Even though Ford has seen some delays with production, people still seem excited about the manual option. Since Ford has seen a good response with the offer, that should carry over until the 2022 Sasquatch manual option. Those who have an order in right now were fans of the off-road vehicle enough to put down a very early reservation. Such people would be more likely to opt for a manual, anyway.

Either way, there is definitely demand for a new manual. It will be interesting to see how the Ford Bronco manual fares as production ramps up toward the end of the year. Or if production doesn’t ramp up, as things seem to be going.

RELATED: Is the Ford Bronco a Reliable SUV for 2021?

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The Levels of Self-Driving Cars, Explained

by Gabrielle DeSantis

When most people think of autonomous vehicles, they think of something like a Tesla rolling around without anyone in the driver’s seat. Yet the reality of autonomous cars is far different from that. In fact, there are six levels of self-driving cars. Each of these levels has a different range of abilities and limitations. So what are the levels of autonomous vehicles? Let’s take a look. 

2021 Tesla Model

Level zero autonomous vehicles don’t do a thing

There are six levels of autonomous vehicles, yet level 0 isn’t really autonomous. In fact, the definition of a level 0 autonomous vehicle is one with absolutely no autonomy. The driver does everything in a level 0 autonomous vehicle. 

Level one autonomy is very limited

As you can probably guess, a level one, or driver assistance, autonomous vehicle has very limited autonomy. This kind of car isn’t about to wrench control of society from humans and rule over us while we rue the day we invented robots. No, level one vehicles can only perform one function such as accelerating or braking at a time, so we’re safe for now. Level one autonomy includes features like cruise control. 

Level two autonomous vehicles are slightly more advanced

This is what most vehicles described as autonomous these days are, including Tesla’s Full Self-Driving software. Level two autonomous vehicles (or partial driving automation) can both steer and accelerate. The thing about level two autonomous vehicles is that you can’t leave them alone to drive themselves, and this is what people don’t understand. A human must sit in the driver’s seat and be ready to take control of the vehicle at any time. Level two autonomous vehicles are not capable of operating independently, despite what some semi-autonomous vehicle owners may think. 

Level three autonomous vehicles still need a driver, but not to the same extent as in a level two

Level three is called conditional automation. Currently there aren’t any level three autonomous vehicles on the market. When we do have level 3 autonomous vehicles for sale, they will require a driver to take over with notice, but not to monitor the roads the way level 2 autonomous vehicles require. 

Level four cars are driverless, but a human must still be there

If we get to a point where we have level four self-driving cars (known as high driving automation), it’s important to note that a human must still be present. Yet in a level four autonomous vehicle, the vehicle is capable of doing everything within certain conditions. Some of these conditions include things like roads with speed limits up to 30 mph. Level four vehicles are on the roads, but they can’t be bought by just anyone who wants a driverless car. Right now they’re used by rideshare companies like Waymo. 

Level five autonomous vehicles are the most independent

Level five, or full driving automation, doesn’t exist yet, or at least it isn’t available for people to buy. Synopsys says that level five cars won’t even have steering wheels or pedals, because there will be no need for them. Recently Elon Musk discussed the possibility of the new Tesla Model 2 being fully autonomous and not having a steering wheel or pedals. 

Even though we’re advancing toward more independent autonomous vehicles, we’re still a long time away from a level five driverless car. This is because there are some serious security risks associated with a car that’s so connected that it doesn’t need human intervention (or even supervision). There also aren’t enough laws or guidelines to allow us to have fully autonomous vehicles on the roads yet, but we’re certainly getting closer.

RELATED: Tesla Cybertruck Patent Is Straight Out of Science Fiction

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