Awesome James Bond Cars 

SPECIAL EDITION #4

BMW 750i

First things first. Of all the incredible James Bond stunts done over the entire series - Skyfall will be the 23rd installment - I have two favorites. 

The stolen Russian tank in GoldenEye and the remote-control BMW chase in Tomorrow Never Dies are on equal terms in my opinion. 

Both stunts were well thought out, original and very exciting. But we are here to discuss the huge amount of work that went into the BMW 750i stunt that takes place in a multi-story car park.

We are exploring the Pierce Brosnan-era of James Bond cars at the moment. 

Brosnan took over from Timothy Dalton, and the new James Bond received a series of BMW cars during a three-film contract with the German company. 

BMW had seen monster success after GoldenEye introduced the Z3 roadster to the world. 

The 750i - their luxury flagship - was next on the list.

Tomorrow Never Dies was the second to last James Bond film that we would see Q. He gives Bond a super cool BMW Z8 that will be the focus of the next installment. 

Veteran Welsh actor Desmond Llewelyn died soon after filming The World Is Not Enough in 1999.

Q giddily gives Bond his new car - a gadget-loaded BMW 750i - and explains the features. The car can be controlled by a custom cell phone (that can also pop locks and analyze fingerprints) with the finger-tip touchscreen steering. 

Bond promptly takes the giant remote-controlled Bimmer for a spin around a airport hanger - and a bunch of expensive planes, much to Q's chagrin.

But it is a Brent Cross shopping center - standing in for Hamburg - where we see the BMW's true capabilities. 

When the baddies attack Bond, he leaps into the backseat of the 750, and drives using the remote cell phone. 

The hoodlums are armed with CAR15 machine guns and M203 grenade launchers, blasting out the front and rear glass on the BMW while Bond is hunkered down in the back.

This sequence took three weeks and 150 technicians to shoot, and the 750 was specially modified to be driven from the floor behind the front seat. 

Lipstick cameras mounted on the grill and door mirrors fed images to small flat screen monitors for the stunt driver.

There were 16 different 750s used, each with a different purpose. Actual prep time for the cars was five months, with a whole special effects factory devoted to spare parts and cool gadgets. 

The BMW emblem on Bond's 750 raises to become a wire-cutter, and the sunroof has surface-to-air missiles...not mention the tire shredders that can be dropped from the back. 

How cool is that?

Bond bails on his luxury boxmobile, though, and drives the car remotely to the roof of the car park - then the 750 leaps from the building and into an Avis rental car shop.

You handsome man, you

All in all, another win for the Bond production company, and BMW as well.