James Bond’s topsy-turvy stunt car set to fetch £250,000 at auction

The AMC Hornet X starred in the legendary “astro spiral” bridge jump in the 1974 classic The Man with the Golden Gun.

Sir Roger Moore’s suave spy is seen driving the car towards the remains of a collapsed bridge before corkscrewing over a river to keep pursuing the film’s villain Scaramanga, played by Christopher Lee.

In the passenger seat was bumbling sheriff JW Pepper, played by Clifton James. In reality the AMC was a modified single-seater driven by Loren “Bumps” Willard.

The British stuntman raced towards the bridge at 40mph, twisted through the air and landed perfectly on the other side on his first take, earning him a £30,000 bonus.

The feat, filmed in Thailand, was voted the fifth best film stunt by Timeout and remains one of the most memorable James Bond scenes.

The car emerged unscathed and 43 years later is being sold in its “as jumped” condition. It was owned by the stunt’s designer Jay Milligan, who died this year.

Auctions America has announced it will be selling the unique vehicle in Indiana between August 31 and September 3. 

It has been given a guide price of £250,000 – less than a tenth of the price paid in 2010 for the Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger.

The auction house said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a truly significant piece of automotive, technological and film history.”


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