James Bond drives Jensen FF
09/27/2013
When you think of James Bond cars, you think of Aston Martin and Lotus, perhaps BMW and Bentley (marginally). Ian Fleming first put Bond in a Bentley and only when it was out of maintenance did he have to use an Aston Martin as his company car.
But Ian Fleming died in 1964 and by then only a dozen or so novels and a few short stories had been written. But the novel character lived on, not least thanks to the films. A whole series of authors have also written James Bond novels and now it is the turn of the well-known author William Boyd, who yesterday published his first Bond novel, "Solo".
And Boyd took the risk of giving Bond a new car. It should be noted that his story, which revolves around the small West African state of Zanzarim and political/military intrigue, is set in 1969.
But the novel begins quietly, because James Bond is celebrating his 45th birthday and he is doing so in style with dinner and a good game at "The Dorchester". Naturally, an attractive woman is also part of the party.
After a good night's sleep and his favorite breakfast at the hotel, he completes his birthday celebrations with a visit to a car dealer on Park Lane and is shown a Jensen FF (Series 1).
Translated from the book, which is only available in English for the time being, this reads (for the time being) as follows:
"The Jensen FF," Eddie said with quiet reverence, his voice almost failing him. "Four-wheel drive." He opened the driver's door. "Take a seat, Mr. Bond, let's see if it fits your size."
Bond slid into the driver's seat, gripped the wooden steering wheel rim with his hands, looked at the instruments on the dashboard, took in the smell of new leather. It had an aphrodisiac effect on Bond .
And later in the book we read:
Bond felt more like he was in a low-flying airplane than an automobile as he accelerated the Jensen .... If you ever needed a car to boost your ego, Bond thought, then the Jensen FF would certainly be the right choice.
So James Bond comes to the Jensen FF, earning approving comments on various internet forums. In fact - we have just published a report on this revolutionary car - the Jensen FF is one of the most innovative cars of the late sixties, as it could count on four-wheel drive, anti-lock brakes and power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering. Combined with a powerful American V8 engine, (almost) nothing could stop this elegant sports car. Just right for James Bond.
For the presentation of the book, the publisher then worked together with the Jensen Club in England and so the first signed copies could be transported to the airport from "The Dorchester" with Jensen FF and other sports cars of the brand.
Our article on the Jensen FF can be found here, the book can be purchased from Amazon in English 
