Museums are stuffy. James Bond’s cars are awesome. Put the two together and what do you get? A very long drive to to the Museum of Bond Vehicles & Espionage, a Gensler-designed facility housing the world’s largest assembly of 007 movie vehicles.
Why a long drive? Because they’re putting it up in Momence, Illinois, a small town 50 miles south of Chicago, with a bustling population of 3,200 super spies. Or maybe regular folks. We’re not really sure.
The town also happens to be the home of the Ian Fleming Foundation, a non-profit organization who owns the 32 original and scale model Bond vehicles (used across numerous films from 1964 to 2006) that will be housed under the museum’s roof. Notable pieces in the collection include the original Ford Mustang Mach 1 429 Cobra Jet from Diamonds are Forever, a model of the Bell Helicopter used in You Only Live Twice and the Aston Martin Volante from The Living Daylights.
A brand new 14,000 square foot lot area will play host to the facility, which will feature a closed building covered in corrugated metal, with a single window shaped like the “7” in “007.” Both the vehicles and the culture surrounding them will be highlighted in the museum, which they’re banking on to serve as a “powerful catalyst for the revitalization of a once-vibrant city.”
The Museum of Bond Vehicles & Espionage will open in 2012, right in time for the first Bond film’s (Dr. No) 50th year anniversary. They’re expecting it to draw around 40,000 visitors into the small town during its first year of operation.
The full list of vehicles to be shown off below:
Goldfinger (1964) – Lockheed Martin VC-140B Jet Star scale model
Thunderball (1965) – Tow Sled, RAF Vulcan Bomber model
You Only Live Twice (1967) – Model 45 Bell Helicopter model
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)– Tracey’s 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7, 428 Cobra Jet Convertible
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)– Ford Mustang Mach 1 429 Cobra Jet, Bath-O-Sub, Honda ATV-90
Live and Let Die (1973) – Glastron Chase / Jump Boat, Glastron Chase Boat
The Man With the Golden Gun (1974) – AMC Hornet
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) – Lotus Submarine Car, Wetbike Water Cycle
Moonraker (1979) – Glastron Amazon Chase Boat
For Your Eyes Only (1981) – CV3 Citroen, Neptune Submarine
Octopussy (1983) – Auto-Rickshaw, “Tuk-Tuk”
A View to a Kill (1985) – Renault Taxi
The Living Daylights (1987) – Aston Martin Volante
License to Kill (1989) – Villains’ Kenworth Truck
Goldeneye (1995) – Cagiva Motorcycle
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) – BMW R 1200 C Motorcycle
The World Is Not Enough (1999) – “Q’s” Jet Boat, Villains’ Land Parahawks and Flying Parahawk
Die Another Day (2002) – Jaguar XKR, Bombardier Rev 800 MXZ Ski-Doos, Switchblade
Casino Royale (2006) – Ford Mondeo
[Bond Vehicle Museum via Autopia]