Trevelyan's Mainframe / FILE: Vehicles, GoldenEye [Thirty years removed]

Vehicles you say? Sounds like a bunch of boys with toys.

Nonetheless, there are plenty of mobile units to review within this file. Almost anything with a set of wings, tires, tracks, or a steering wheel worth noting will be covered here. That said, there's no time to waste for this one, old boy.

Access codes are approved. The following is all we have on our subjects, thirty years removed from their GOLDENEYE appearance.

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Operative: Janus

File: Vehicles, GoldenEye

Report From: Arkhangelsk

Lat: 64.5459 N

Long: 40.5506 W

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TREVELYAN:

A lot of ground to cross here, friend... best course of action?

Let's hit the high notes, start to finish. Strap in, shall we?

Most commonly being used for skydiving, medical transport, or military training, the Pilatus PC-6 Porter was the star vehicle of GOLDENEYE's pre-title sequence. Based out of Switzerland, the tightly-knit Pilatus Aircraft company was the producers of this small utility aircraft. Then registered HB-FFW, this Pilatus belonged to Air Glaciers airline and was used as a shuttlecraft back and forth from Switzerland to Corsica (an island of France) when it wasn't being featured in major films. Air Glaciers was responsible for a handful of loaned film aircraft during that time.

This Pilatus model is not to be confused with a visually similar plane featured much later on in the film, the Cessna Aircraft Company's 172 model, known as the "Skyhawk". Similarly to the Pilatus PC-6 Porter, the Cessna 172 featured in GOLDENEYE was a fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft. Registration number is noted here as N96816 at the time. American in origin, the Cessna was fitting for its pilot in the film, a certain Jack Wade of the USA's Central Intelligence Agency.

You know, come to think of it, I believe a certain Franz Sanchez was keen on the "Skyhawk".

Though, his was snatched right out of the sky by that very same intelligence agency, was it not?

Last reports on the whereabouts of this specific Cessna plane place it under the ownership of the Ian Fleming Foundation, with the aircraft having been out on load to the Bond in Motion exhibition within the last few years.

Our next vehicle, trading a set of wings for forks and springs. The army green, enduro-style Cagiva W16 600 motorcycle ripped through the silver screen with James Bond in pursuit of our departing Pilatus PC-6 Porter. Produced from 1994 to 2001 (ironic, as the pre-title sequence is technically a flashback to 1986), the W16 came with desirable features right out of the box.

High quality breaks, off-road ready forks, and rugged outfitting made for a durable, capable machine. Cagiva, an Italian motorcycle manufacturer, are still the makers of choice for both the French and Italian armies. What else is there to boast of for this bike? Well, Cagiva's W16 600 was the very first motorcycle James Bond drove on-screen (in an EON Productions Bond Film)!

Which brings us to the vehicles that make up the main section of film, and we're starting off with a bang, I daresay.

A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 and a 1994 Ferrari F355 GTS lock horns in the early scenes of GOLDENEYE.

After roughly thirty years since its last appearance in a James Bond film, the iconic 1964 Aston Martin DB5 raced back across the silver screen in 1995's GOLDENEYE. Adorned with a communication-recording-transcribing device hidden within the car's radio, a champagne chiller, and a new number plate (BMT 214A), GOLDENEYE's DB5 was expertly balanced between familiar and refreshed. Side note, according to documents here, that registered plate number was in tribute to the plate used in GOLDFINGER (BMT 216A).

Alongside Bond's old Grand Tourer, was Ferrari's newest, absolutely stunning, F355 GTS model. New for 1994, the F355 was an upgrade from the previous F348 model. Amongst other options, the GTS package included a removable roof (much to the enjoyment of operative Xenia Zaragevna Onatopp). The F355 went on to become Ferrari's highest selling unit in company history at the time, marking a comeback of sorts for Ferrari following a tumultuous start to the 1990's.

With superior options, engine power, and top speed,

it is a wonder how Agent 007 was able to keep up in his old aluminum can!

Switching gears and craft styles completely, this mainframe would be incomplete without mentioning the powerful grandeur that is the French, Frégate Légère Furtive, or La Fayette-class frigate number F710. Operated by the French navy, this stealth frigate was a major feature in both the 1995 GOLDENEYE film, as well as the 1997 game of the same name. Launched in early 1992, frigate F710 was manufactured by DCN Naval Group Lorient, but wasn't commissioned for official naval use until 1996, after GOLDENEYE's release.

Moving along to more machines that take up airspace, stationed atop the frigate's main deck, was Janus' own, erm borrowed... Tiger attack helicopter! A beautifully deadly machine developed and produced by Eurocopter, the Tiger was the star of much of GOLDENEYE's subplot.

Without it, how else would General Ourumov and Ms. Onatopp have collected

the GoldenEye from Severnaya, after all? Certainly you wouldn't know, would you?

Much like it is explained in the film, the Tiger was designed with maneuverability in mind and test prototypes took flight as early as 1991. Its unique rotor system allowed the Tiger to perform extreme loops and negative G force maneuvers in tight situations. Not to mention, the hull being specifically hardened against any electromagnetic interference. A focus feature left over from the Cold War, no doubt.

Yet, much unlike the film, the real world Tiger attack helicopter wouldn't be accepted for official field operations until well beyond the events of GOLDENEYE... around the second half of the 2000's, according to our reports.

In between here and our next main subject of conversation to come, many vehicles can be spotted throughout the scenes of GOLDENEYE. Simple sedans, Ladas, common military vehicles, and even several Mercedes-Benz models are sprinkled about across the locations of Monte Carlo, St. Petersburg, and London.

James Bond at the helm of a Soviet-Russian era main battle tank, the mighty T-55.

In what is perhaps the most anticipated section of this file, it is time we covered the tank of 1995's GOLDENEYE. The T-55 was around for most of the world's armed conflicts within the twentieth century. Production numbers can be estimated near a hundred-thousand units over its nearly four-decade-long lifespan, making it one of the most produced battle tanks in wartime history.

Come now, what's there not to love about an eight-hundred horsepower, diesel fueled beast?

According to our internal sources, the tank seen in GOLDENEYE was on loan from the East England Military Museum and had its own special tweaks. To avoid this thirty-six tonne giant crushing the paved streets of St. Petersburg while on location, the original steel tracks of the unit had to be replaced with rubber tracks. Struggles with local logistics and more would end up making GOLDENEYE's iconic tank chase the longest stretch of shooting within the film's schedule.

Funnily enough, this very same screen-used T-55 model battle tank made a special 'cameo' in 2002's DIE ANOTHER DAY, nearly a decade after its original appearance in GOLDENEYE. Keep an eye out during Colonel Moon's personal vehicle showcase within North Korea's demilitarized zone in early scenes of the film.

Just minutes after we got a glimpse at what the T-55 tank was capable of, my very own disused Soviet-era missile train was captured on-screen in GOLDENEYE. Not that I'm willing to much dive into this section of the file, but I will reiterate that it was retrofitted with one-inch armour plating, a dining car, private sleeping quarters, and a control center of sorts for Janus' St. Petersburg based operations.

All standard issue knowledge you'd even find within MI6's intel database, I'd wager.

That's all you're getting from me here as well, old friend.

Rounding out some of our final units of travel in this file, we come to the next cruiser James Bond, Natalya Simonova, and even CIA Agent Jack Wade bombed around in. By the time Bond and Simonova landed in Cuba during later scenes in GOLDENEYE, they were cruising the caribbean in an Atlanta Blue Metallic BMW Z3 Roadster.

This five-speed manual, German-made roadster was fully loaded by Q Branch according to stolen documents attached at the end of this file. Studies indicate a simple self-destruct defense system, an emergency parachute braking system, standard radar equipment, and a set of forward-firing, stinger missiles housed behind the car's headlights.

....I've heard whispers of an ejector seat, as well.

Not that we can directly confirm, of course.

Side notes on Z3 indicate that this showing would mark the beginning of Bond's three-film relationship with BMW to unfold over the course of the mid to late 1990's. Bond would go on to drive a BMW in 1997's TOMORROW NEVER DIES, as well as 1999's THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. The Z3 also made an appearance as an option in the video game, 007 RACING in the year 2000.

As a matter of fact, the BMW Z3 was the first car by BMW to not be manufactured exclusively in German. Sales? The 1996 production year models of the BMW Z3 were sold out by the time GOLDENEYE hit theatres over the holiday 1995 season, or so I've been informed. The Bond effect, I suppose.

With that, it seems we've covered everything from A to Z(3) in regard to the vehicles of GOLDENEYE.

...minus my own personal and professional registrations, perhaps.

File closed.

Now, let's step out for a quick recess.

Why not be a good boy and... drive?

-TREVELYAN

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