It's been more than 40 years since Goldfinger hit theaters, but to many people Aston Martin is still the car synonymous with James Bond. Who would have thought that a then-new model—the Aston Martin DB5—would almost overnight become the most famous car in the world. Aston Martin certainly didn't. The company was both shaken and stirred by the flood of letters and phone calls demanding more information about that movie secret agent's amazing vehicle.

We can blame it all on Q, of course. If Major Boothroyd, Bond's equipment officer, had merely handed over the keys to a stock DB5—minus turn-signal mounted machine guns, a swiveling hubcap-housed tire slasher and a passenger ejector seat that could blow an enemy sky high—we'd all be lusting after stunt pilot Pussy Galore instead of the film's legendary sports car.

But isn't that the way it is with almost all Bond films? 007's movie cars—a supercharged vintage Bentley, a BMW Z3 convertible, an Aston Martin DB5 and other head-turning wheels—just keep rolling through the byways of your mind. With the bad guys right on your tail, of course.

Casino Royale, the latest Bond film, takes viewers back to Bond's beginnings, so it's no surprise it features a DB5. It's been reported that the filmmakers wrecked three Aston Martin DB5 V12s worth a total of $900,000 in one day during the shooting of a high-speed mountain chase. Nice driving, James. What follows is a roundup of some of the great machines 007 has piloted.