LIVE AND LET DRIVE; What has made James Bond the legend he is today?

Byline: Paul English

NEXT time you're getting a new quote for your car insurance, think yourself lucky you're not James Bond.

No claims bonus? Forget it. Discount for being over 25? Fat chance.

Drink driving convictions? Plenty, what with all those vodka Martinis.

According to West Of Scotland Insurance Brokers, Bond would have a nightmare getting a decent insurance quote.

In short - he would need a shed-load of Moneypennies.

Take his iconic submersible Lotus Esprit, as featured in Roger Moore's The Spy Who Loved Me.

A fully comprehensive quote - without any no-claims bonus for a fortysomething foreign diplomat (secret agents aren't listed) living in central London, using his car for business - comes in at pounds 4940.

"I'm not sure about the modifications," explains insurance adviser Peter Gray. "If the car has to go under water, then we're talking at least another four grand on the price."

It's enough to make your eyes water - an insurance quote of almost pounds 9000 a year.

Whether Mr J Bond would prefer to pay up front, or in 10 monthly payments, we don't know.

Then again, Her Majesty's number one secret agent obviously earns a few bob. And even if it did come out of his pocket, he still gets to drive those incredible cars.

Never mind license to kill - where would Bond be without his license to drive?

This week, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of 007, motor show 5th Gear takes a look inside Bond's garage, past and present, and reveals some interesting facts.

Did you know, for instance, that Aston Martin wasn't too keen on having its DB5 appearing in Goldfinger alongside Sean Connery in 1964?

Richard Pearson, executive producer of Chrysalis TV, explains.

"Aston Martin didn't see the attraction in product placement in those days. It very nearly never happened, but as it turned out it was the best product placement ever and revived their fortunes. It went on to be dubbed `the most famous car in the world' and I would say it's the car most people associate with Bond."

Since then, Aston Martins have featured in seven Bond films, including die Another Day.

However, in terms of sheer invention, the Lotus Esprit is in a class of its own. And the marketing men at Lotus were pretty inventive back then, too, as Richard explains.

"The Lotus Esprit was a new car back then," he says. "And the Lotus people were apparently tipped off that, if they parked this radical looking car outside the Bond production company's office, the producer would fall in love with it."

It was a move which paid off. On the road the Lotus Esprit might look like a bit of a tank these days, but the Bond movies cemented its legendary status.

The memorable underwater scenes in The Spy Who Loved Me were filmed in a tank with a quarter- size model, with Steradent denture tablets used to simulate bubbles.

Timothy Dalton took charge of an Aston Martin Vantage which could ski in The Living Daylights, while Pierce Brosnan's first car chase as Bond saw him in the Aston Martin DB5 once again - duelling with a far superior Ferrari 355.

"It's the first thing they do with a new Bond," Richard says. "They establish his relationship with his car."

BMW had the product placement stranglehold for Pierce Brosnan's first three Bond movies, with the popular Z3 introduced in GoldenEye (1995).

It was hardly on screen, yet the associated prestige ensured it became one of the most popular sports cars on the road - which it is to this day.

The BMW 7 Series followed in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), with the Z8 featuring in The World Is Not Enough (1999).

In Die Another Day, Bond is reunited with Aston Martin, in a pounds 160,000 Vanquish V12 which takes part in a spectacular ice-chase.

Over on ITV, Roger Moore presents Best Ever Bond. Moore, who surely qualifies as the best Bond on account of his inimitable smarm and that double entendre- laden eyebrow, recounts behind the scenes tales of the 10 best Bond moments.

And they are:

l Bond's first ever appearance - Dr No (1962). Bond introduces himself as Bond, James Bond, for the very first time.

l Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) emerges from the sea - Dr No (1962)

l Jill Masterson painted gold - Goldfinger (1964)

l The Laser beam table - Goldfinger (1964). Goldfinger staps Bond to a table with a laser beam heading for his groin. "Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die."

l Blofeld revealed - You Only Live Twice (1967)

l Bond's wife (Diana Rigg) is murdered - On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

l Bond skis off a cliff - The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

l Bond's parachute battle with Jaws - Moonraker (1979)

l St Petersburg tank chase - GoldenEye (1995)

l London speedboat chase - The World Is Not Enough (1999).

5th Gear Special, Monday, five, 8pm; Best Ever Bond, Friday, ITV, 9pm