Welcome to the EYES ONLY newsletter!

Finally, a scale model of the Q Glider has been revealed, more than 2 years after this cool aircraft appeared in the movie No Time To Die.

There’s not much Bond news but there are several car-related stories this week, from an affordable Bond car (a £13k BMW 750iL) to a £2.5m Jaguar C-X75 that has been made road-legal.

And a Q&A with our man in Sweden, Anders Frejdh.

Enjoy!

Remmert van Braam
founder BOND LIFESTYLE

CARS

Road-legal Jaguar C-X75 for sale

One of the handful of Jaguar C-X75 supercars built for SPECTRE (2015) has been made road-legal and is now for sale.

COLLECTING

The first James Bond Q Glider Model

Corgi has revealed the first model of the James Bond Q Glider as seen in No Time To Die.

AUCTION

James Bond posters at Prop Store

The Prop Store Collectible Posters Live Auction in London on 8-9 February 2024 features many vintage James Bond posters including a special teaser poster from 1967.

UPDATE

George Harrison’s DB5

I added a small update to the article about George Harrison’s Aston Martin DB5: a scan of the original Sotheby’s Auction Brochure which gives us some more info on the car. I will try to find out who was the Dutch owner of the vehicle in the early 1980s, stay tuned.

CARS

BMW 750iL for sale in the UK

For sale in the UK, a BMW 750iL (£13,500) with a very similar spec as the James Bond model from Tomorrow Never Dies.

Check it out on eBay or reply to this newsletter so I can bring you in contact with the seller. This one might go fast!

Q. Which three Bond clothes or accessories do you wear the most?
A. When I graduated in June 2000 having studied Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration at University of Skövde, my family kindly gave me an OMEGA Seamaster (the same model Pierce Brosnan used in his Bond movies). It means so much to me. As George Lazenby's manager, it was gratifying that the 50th anniversary of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was celebrated by so many brands: N.Peal (during the Swedish winter period, I always wear their 007 gloves), Aston Martin, Melbourne Gin and Orlebar Brown. However, I never leave bed without my OMEGA special OHMSS edition. It represented an achievement for George's enduring 007 legacy. I also enjoy all my Crockett & Jones shoes which I wear frequently.

Q. If you could keep only 1 item of your Bond collection, what would it be?
A. A difficult question considering there are over 5,000 items to choose from. I usually say the signed copy of Desmond Llewelyn’s autobiography, so that’ll certainly be one of the items I’d go for in case of a fire. Although I never met Desmond face to face, I saw him at the gala premiere of The World Is Not Enough in London 1999 and was very sad when I heard he’d passed shortly thereafter. He was loved by everyone who worked with him.

Q. What is your most popular post/video?
A. Probably the personal photos with Daniel Craig, the late Sir Roger Moore and my client, George Lazenby. From Sweden with Love celebrates 20 years on the web and features over 8,000 pages of content in both English and Swedish covering all aspects of the James Bond phenomenon. The site gets an average of around 15,000 unique visitors per month from all over the world. All organic following. My team is very supportive from designers Peter Wallentin and Bernardo Rivavelarde, photographers Sascha Braun and Peter Lulle Johansson to some great writers like Ajay Chowdhury, Brian James Smith, Greg Bechtloff, John Cork, Jon Auty and Mark Cerulli.

Q. Which Bond location do you still want to visit?
A. Goldeneye in Jamaica. Having been fortunate to visit most key locations, I'm saving the birthplace of Bond for a special occasion with a special someone. So far, the highlights have been Martijn Mulder's On The Tracks of 007 trip to Japan and the OHMSS50 tour we worked on in 2019 which George was a big part of. (Doubt it will ever be repeated with another one of the 007 actors.) Now, I’m mainly looking forward to another spectacular trip with Martijn to Thailand in September 2024 for which my friend Maud Adams will join us.

Q. If you could meet any Bond actor (even if they’re no longer with us), who would that be and why?
A. I would have loved to have met Harry Saltzman since he was the one who originally had the film rights for Ian Fleming’s James Bond books. Another reason because his daughter Hilary was a good friend for many years. We first met in 2006 when I helped her organise Vue sur Bond 007 in Quebec, Canada with Sir Roger Moore, Britt Ekland, Guy Hamilton, Nic Raine, Richard Kiel, and Dame Shirley Bassey. Of all the hundreds of people I’ve been fortunate to meet over the years with connections to the books and films, Hilary truly is one of the nicest and most lovable ones. Without me asking for anything, she graciously put me in a luxurious suite on the top floor of our 5-star hotel in Quebec as a surprise for me travelling the furthest of everyone who was there. Will never forget it! It just makes me so sad thinking she’s no longer with us.

Q. Which Bond-related song do you want to add to the Bond Lifestyle Playlist on Spotify / YouTube?
A. Gloria Hendry does entertaining jazz versions of Bond songs. I enjoy her Live And Let Die - the only time a Bond actress sings the title song of the film she's in. But to see her do it live is amazing! Her gig at Herb Alpert's Vibrato Grill Lazz in LA on 8th February 2024 is going to be so entertaining.

Q. Rolex or Omega?
A. I enjoy Bond's Rolex Oyster Perpetual in the Fleming books but for the personal and professional reasons I previously mentioned, my heart is with OMEGA.