JAGUAR'S VILLAINOUS XKR

A decade after its starring role in the 2002 James Bond romp Die Another Day, the machine gun‑toting, missile‑firing, rocket‑launching Jaguar XKR driven by the evil, diamond‑studded villain Zao, has a new starring role.

The famous racing green Jaguar XKR Convertible is one of the star exhibits at the International Spy Museum’s newly‑opened, special exhibition ‘Exquisitely Evil: 50 Years of Bond Villains’ exhibition in downtown Washington DC.            

“Of all the 007 villain cars featured in the past 23 Bond movies, we felt the XKR was the most‑villainous of them all. We had to have it,” explains Anna Slafer, the International Spy Museum’s director of exhibitions and programs.

While no fewer than eight specially‑modified XKRs were built for the movie by Jaguar’s former Special Vehicle Operations in conjunction with Pinewood Studios’ in‑house special effects team, this example is one of the four so‑called “hero” cars used for close‑up filming.

Part of its villainous armory includes a menacing Gatling gun, centrally‑mounted behind the seats, and red‑tipped missiles that deploy from behind the front grille.

The XKR takes pride of place just inside the entrance to the International Spy Museum and is one of more than 100 unique artifacts from 50 years of Bond films, the majority of which come from the vaults of London‑based EON Productions, which makes the Bond movies. It is the only car included in the exhibition.

Other head‑turning exhibits include everything from Jaws’ steel teeth from The Spy Who Loved Me, to Auric Goldfinger’s studded golf shoes, to Dr. No’s tarantula from the Dr. No film. Alongside the XKR is one of the costumes worn by Zao, played in Die Another Day by actor Rick Yune.

One major challenge for Anna Slafer and her team was actually getting the XKR through the front doors of the museum.

“We are located in an historic building so we had to mount it on a car rotisserie and squeeze it in sideways.  It then had to be hoisted up then lowered into position. In all, it took more than seven hours and 10 men to manhandle it into place,” explains Anna.

The  ‘Exquisitely Evil: 50 Years of Bond Villains’, which opened last Friday, runs through 2014 and the International Spy Museum is located at at 800 F Street NW, Washington.

For more information on the exhibit at The International Spy Museum, call 202‑393‑7798 or visit www.spymuseum.org