Many men and boys want to be James Bond, not only because he is an international spy but because he has the best range of any gadgets anybody could ever want. From cars to cameras Bond is kitted out with futuristic and cutting edge tech, supplied by MI6 and Q. We look at some of Bonds gadgets that are available today for anybody to buy, to have a slice of the international secret agent life style.
1. Jet Pack
Have you ever wondered what it would be like fly, or escape villains from the sky like James Bond in Thunderball? The Martin Jetpack has been designed to be an affordable way to do just that! The personal jetpack allows the user to fly at incredible heights and at astonishing speeds. Does this sound good to you?
- Invented by Glenn Martin
- Made in New Zealand
- Runs on standard petrol
- 30 mile range at 60mph
- 8,000ft flying altitude
- No pilots licence required to fly it
- 2L V4 engine
- 200bhp
- £49,000 to buy
Produced by the Martin Jetpack Company.
2. Submarine/ Amphibious Car
James Bond’s 1977 The Spy Who Loved Me contains the iconic scene of a Lotus Esprit being chased by a helicopter – and to avoid capture, Bond drove the Lotus into the sea, where it transformed into a submarine. In 1977, this was nothing more than a fantasy: an unbelievable reality that a car could be both a car and submarine. In 2013 this is now a reality with the Rinspeed’s Squba.
- Car, Boat, Submarine in one
- Zero Emissions Electric Vehicle
- Top speed 75mph (land)
- Top Speed 3.8mph (on water)
- Top Speed 1.9mph (submerged)
- Submerged to a depth of 10 meters
- Complete autonomous operation (it can drive itself)
- Cost $1.5 million
3. Long Rang Acoustic Device (LRAD)
The Moonraker laser rifle is a powerful handheld laser weapon and first featured in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker. LRAD is a Long Range Acoustic Device focusing sonic energy to send messages, warnings, and harmful, pain inducing tones over longer distances than normal loudspeakers. LRAD systems have been used to counter piracy, as non-lethal crowd control weapons, and as communication devices.
The speaker focuses sonic energy into a specific directional location. The LRAD’s use of focused energy is a modern form of the laser weapon but has been designed as a deterrent and communication device. LRAD has been used by governments around the world but is soon to come to the public markets as a directional speaker, allowing the user to stand under a panel and be the only person able to hear the emitted sound.
4. GPS Tracker
Every Bond film has some sort of tracker or GPS location device featured, and in 2013 there are many options to find and track people or devices. With most smartphones having GPS built in there are plenty of apps that use the phones built in GPS to offer tracking. If you want to go a bit more specialised you can opt for a magnetic tracker, offering 4-5 months of extended tracking. These devices easily fit to the underneath of cars or other metal units to provide up-to-date location information though a web interface.
Prices range from £100 to £275.
5. Stealth Surveillance
A spy’s kit wouldn’t be complete without under cover surveillance; from a small reel-to-reel tape recorder hidden within a camera, used to interrogate Tatiana in From Russia With Love, to the mini camera used to take small reconnaissance photos of various blueprints and strategic locations in most films.
Q ensured James’s devices were small and undetectable. There are loads of gadgets available but these are a few of my personal favourites.
6. James Bond Watch
Since Ian Fleming’s creation of James Bond, Bond’s watches have always been a defining characteristic of the international spy. In most cases, they are extremely luxurious, made by brands such as Rolex, Seiko, Omega or an extremely special Q-branch watch. The James Bond’s Q-Branch Geiger counter wristwatch from Thunderball is soon to be auctioned and is expected to sell for around £60,000.
If is this a little out of your budget you can buy a limited edition 007 Omega Seamaster from Quantum of Solace. The watch features a discreet red ‘007’ seconds hand counterweight, a lacquered black dial and black gold plated hands. Only 10,007 collector’s pieces watches have been produced, making it even more irresistible to 007 fans and luxury watch collectors.
