While James Bond fans already have to endure a delay in the latest film, No Time to Die, until at least November, the latest word is it might not even hit theaters until 2021. That’s a long time to wait as we’ve already gone nearly five years waiting for Daniel Craig’s last outing hurrah as 007. Here in the TFL office, we’re anxious to see the movie not just for some heart-pounding, ass-kicking action from the man himself, but also for the car stunt drivers were putting through its paces late last year: the new Land Rover Defender.
Thanks to Dimitri, however, we have a few interesting shots of one of the test Defenders used in the movie’s production. The license plate “LI03098T” on the front of the car he sent in as it was being loaded on a transport ship matches a vehicle shown in photos last November. Land Rover promoted the Defender’s testing with stunt drivers. If you missed that, you can get up to speed here.
Taking a look inside
As you’d expect with a movie stunt car, these aren’t your typical off-the-lot Defenders. These cars were stripped out and modified to handle the abuse, but Dimitri’s photos give us a closer look at just what that entailed.
Inside this Defender, all of the interior trim has been removed, and there’s little inside the car other than some padding to protect electronic modules mounted in the rear. There’s also a blue cell mounted in the center of the car, shown below. That is a FIA-approved auxiliary fuel tank built by Aero Tec Laboratories in the UK. It’s a tank commonly used in hill climbs, drag racing and other events where crash resistance is crucial.
Besides that, there’s a quick shot of a roll cage directly behind the driver, as well as a host of fuel lines and electronics needed specifically for the movie.
