10 Facts About The Iconic James Bond Film Gadgets
2. Self-driving BMW 750iL - Tomorrow Never Dies
Another car that needed a full team to function was the Tomorrow Never Dies BMW 750iL, which was basically a tank in a sportscar body. The car had rocket launchers hidden in the sunroof, bullet-proof everything, re-inflatable tyres, a built-in chain cutter and a whole lot more, but the most impressive bit was that it could be driven virtually using a remote control.
Using his Sony Ericsson cellular device, Bond manoeuvres the car to exactly where he needs it. Behind the scenes, they had to install a steering wheel behind the front seat with a tiny monitor for the driver to see where he was driving. They installed long pipes that connected to the pedals at the front of the car so that the driver could control the vehicle from the back seat.
They had 17 of these BMWs on hand and a crew of 65 people to capture the two-minute sequence. Filming took three weeks and was done in the Brent Cross Shopping Mall parking lot.
Back in 1977, a car like this was mind-blowing to viewers and certainly made the film a major talking point in the James Bond community.