Simply Bond
Fans of 007 had a double treat when they visited the Beaulieu attraction last Sunday, 29th July, as, in addition to Bond In Motion, an exhibition in the National Motor Museum celebrating 50 years of James Bond films, they could enjoy Simply Bond, a special one-off event in which owners of vehicles of the same make and model as any of the vehicles that have appeared in the Bond films, were invited to put them on display in the Beaulieu parkland for the day.
Among the wide variety of vehicles on display were Aston Martin DB5s, as seen in Goldfinger and Goldeneye, several Lotus Esprit, the iconic submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me, a line-up of Triumph Stags as featured in Diamonds Are Forever and a Sunbeam Alpine from the very first Bond film, Dr No. Other vehicles included the Aston Martin DBS and Vanquish, a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, BMW Z8 and a couple of gleaming Mustangs. Providing the commentary for the day’s activities was TV and event presenter, Kevin Harris.
The Aston Martin Owners’ Club arrived in force to support the event, putting on an extra display of 40 Astons - the marque most associated with James Bond.
Ten children and their families also enjoyed a day out at the event with the help of children’s charity, Dreams Come True and Cannonball 2000, a 2000 mile, five day run through Europe. The children were each taken for a drive in one of four stunning supercars – a Ferrari 458, Ferrari California, Maserati Grand Cabrio and an Aston Martin – all taking part in this year’s Cannonball 2000. Celebrity guests were on hand to make it an extra special day for the children – including stuntman, Ray Dehaan, who has worked on a number of James Bond films including Goldeneye, Die Another Day and The World Is Not Enough.
Following a cavalcade through the grounds by 20 of the Simply Bond participants, there was a line-up of the three most popular cars, as voted by visitors for the People’s Choice award.
Runners-up were Karl Kittlety, from Bournemouth, in an Aston Martin DB6 and Julia Howorth, from Highcliffe, Dorset, in a DB3. The winner was Jim Gibson, from Fleet, Hampshire, in a 2CV, as featured in For Your Eyes Only, complete with 007 lettering and gun, and ‘bullet holes’ produced for a Citroen promotion in 1981, the year the film was released. Jim, a long-time member of the 2CV Club, purchased the car in 2006. A 1987 model, originally in white, it had a colour change in 1997 to Citroen Service Yellow, to match the colour of the 2CV in the film.
Ray Dehaan presented Jim with a People’s Choice special edition Beaulieu Trophy, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Beaulieu attraction, and the runners-up received a bottle of Beaulieu Bubbly.
Simply Bond is a one-off addition to a growing calendar of Simply rallies which has rapidly expanded to include a wide variety of themes covering many makes and models. All Simply rallies are run and organised by Beaulieu and take place in the grounds of the National Motor Museum. The newest additions to the Simply rallies for 2012 are Simply Japanese on 5th August and Simply 4x4 on 12th August. For more information, visit beaulieuevents.co.uk.
This event is sponsored by specialist motor insurance broker Adrian Flux.
