The Bond gadgets you can actually buy
You can get your hands on these James Bond gadgets.
From the lethal and the dangerous to the downright ridiculous, everyone knows the best part of any James Bond film is his gadgets. To celebrate the upcoming release of the 24th Bond movie Spectre, we’ve rounded up the best devices money can buy to unleash your inner 007.
Jetpack
For $150,000 (about £98,000) you can make like Bond in Thunderball and use this jetpack to escape from gun-toting baddies, or just for a trip to the supermarket. Available early next year from Martin Aircrafts it might not be as compact as Bond’s but it can fly for 30 minutes at speeds of 46mph (74km/h).
Photo credit: Martin Aircraft
Underwater Car
OK so you’ll have to get your feet wet but it’s the closest you’re going to get to Bond’s infamous submarine Lotus Esprit featured in The Spy Who Loved Me. Designed by Swiss car maker Rinspeed, sQuba can dive up to 10 metres, has a self-contained on-board oxygen system and can accelerate up to 50mph. The sQuba prototype costs the best part of £10 million, but you’ll never have to catch the ferry again.
Photo credit: Rinspeed
Smart Watch
Here’s a bit of Bond fiction that definitely came true. And while the smart watches on the market today might not be able to detonate explosives or stop bullets like Bond’s they can make phone calls, draw pictures and monitor your fitness levels.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Gyroplane
Die-hard Bond fans will fondly remember classic Bond gadget Little Nellie helping 007 fly swiftly into battle in You Only Live Twice. A cross between a fixed wing aeroplane and a helicopter, a Gyroplane can cost around £65,000.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Multi-Touch Table Computer
Quantum of Solace saw 007 ditch boring old PCs, instead preferring to gather info on his nemesis using an interactive table computer, moving files and pictures around with his fingertips. The good news is this technology already exists. Try the Microsoft Samsung PixelSense POA for example.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
GPS Tracking Device
Back in 1964, homing devices, or GPS to you and me, helped 007 track Goldfinger’s Rolls-Royce all the way to Switzerland. These days you can grab small tracking devices from any electronics store or install an app on your phone to help you find everything from lost car keys to pets.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Book Safe
The baddies also had some cool tricks. In From Russia With Love, Soviet assassin Red Grant conceals his weapons inside a copy of War and Peace. Why not store your valuables into a hollow book safe that you can buy for around £5? Choose one that’s particularly dog-eared to throw any would-be thieves off the scent.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Fingerprint Scanner
Today anyone with an iPhone can be privy to this piece of spy-like technology but back in Diamonds are Forever, this was big business. You can pick up a mobile scanner for around £30 to keep your computer safe – that’s a spyware bargain.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Q’s Robot Dog
Making its adorable debut in A View To A Kill, Snooper had a video camera for eyes and a retractable neck. Make like Q and grab yourself a mechanical mutt for around £50. Available from toy stores they come in different shapes and sizes, and can bark, play and understand several languages.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Voice Changer
In Diamonds Are Forever, Bond outwits his opponents by using a cassette player to alter the sound of his voice. You too can sound like anyone from your neighbour to your son. Basic software starts at around £5, but can cost hundreds to allow you to change tone and octave.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
An Indestructible Car
If, like Bond, you live your life in the fast lane – a very dangerous fast lane – then this car is for you!
Priced at around £95,000, this Tesla electric car is tough enough to withstand biological weapon attacks thanks to special air filters that can dispel powerful chemicals.
Photo credit: Tesla
Flameless USB Lighter
Q is known for producing some seriously wacky creations, so we know he’d love this. Perfect for lighting your nemesis’s cigar, this gadget uses coils to generate heat, lighting cigarettes without flames or fluid, and it charges via your computer. You can pick one up easily online.
Photo credit: Amazon
Rebreather
Appearing in both Thunderball and Die Another Day, the rebreather is an important tool in Bond’s arsenal. Now South Korean designer Jeabyun Yeon has developed the Triton.
The Triton has a mask like a fish’s gill that extracts oxygen from water so you can keep breathing while you’re submerged. No price yet but it’ll be worth every penny.
Photo credit: Triton
X-Ray Glasses
They might not be able to see through women’s dresses a la The World Is Not Enough but car company BMW has created a pair of X-ray glasses that allow you to see what’s going on outside your MINI Cooper thanks to built-in cameras and sensors.
The glasses also feature Wi-fi, Bluetooth and GPS. They can help you find a car parking space that's just the right size and help you park in it! They're still in the development stage but hopefully we'll be able to buy some soon.
Photo credit: BMW
MINOX CAMERA
This inconspicuous slim-line camera served Bond well in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. More fashion statement than spyware these days, you can grab a vintage Minox for about £30 on eBay.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Polarized Sunglasses/Google Glass
Yes, they don’t sound groundbreaking but in A View To A Kill (1985) these babies allowed our favorite spy to see through tinted windows. Back then that was no easy feat.
These days Google Glass would be Bond’s best friend, with the hotly anticipated Google Glass 2 (around £1,000) expected to include holograms.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Hovercraft
Bond nearly wiped out an entire army base with his hovercraft in Die Another Day. If speed is your bag you won’t be disappointed with the aptly named Spycatcher Extreme. Clocking up speeds of 45mph, it travels effortlessly over land, water, sand, ice or snow and costs about £25,000.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Bluetooth Gloves
Forget pressing call on your phone, these Bluetooth gloves (which cost about £45) allow you to talk on the phone by making a ‘call me’ gesture with your hands.
The gloves conceal a microphone at the tip of the little finger and an earpiece in the thumb.
Photo credit: hi-Fun
Aston Martin
Luxury car firm Aston Martin has developed the DB10, the only car ever built just for Bond. It can go from zero to 60mph in 4.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 190mph! With only 10 made, you’ll need to be quick to nab one.
Photo credit: Aston Martin
Peephole Reverser
Not sure what’s happening on the other side of the door? As the name suggests this gadget allows you to see inside a room from the outside. It’s small, light, easy to conceal and costs about £30.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Spy Pen
For the ultimate super sleuth, you can’t do better than the camera pen. With a tiny, impossible-to-detect camera lens you can record video and take photos for two hours. Prices can start at £20.
Photo credit: Open24Seven
Ring Camera
While this ring camera, produced by Hyeonsik Studio & Jeon Yengwon, might not be as stylish or discrete as Bond’s sneaky signet ring in A View To A Kill it still does the job, so you can get snap happy on the unsuspecting.
Photo credit: Yanko Design
Digital Translator Pen
OK so Bond didn’t actually use this but he would have if someone at MI6 had thought of it. It might look like a regular pen but as you drag it over words it records them onto your computer and can translate them into a bunch of languages. Grab one for around £65
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
Laser Watch
Bond movies are never short of deadly lasers so we had to include this seriously impressive watch even though it’s currently not for sale. Created by Patrick Priebe, Laser Watch features an integrated 1,500 mill-watt blue laser that can be used for up to 10 minutes each time.
Photo credit: Patrick Priebe
Eye-Scanning Smartphone
Forget having to type out a password. This new smartphone from Fujitsu uses infrared LED and a special camera to scan a person’s unique iris pattern, unlocking their phone. It will hopefully be on the market next year. Now that’s something 007 would be interested in.
Photo credit: Shutterstock.com
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