Along with Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, and a vintage Aston Martin DB5, the Land Rover Defender will be one of the stars of the new James Bond film Skyfall due in cinemas this winter. Driven in a car chase sequence by Eve played by Naomi Harris, the 4x4 was given one of its toughest assignments according to co-producer Andrew Noakes. "We are really going to test that car," says Noakes, "do things to it it's not normally designed for."

"Some of the stuff is so hairy and dangerous, we have to use a stuntman in a pod on the roof to do the driving. We've had to crank up the suspension, and the Defender is going to work very, very hard." The last time the Defender appeared in a Bond movie it was plummeting from the rock of Gibraltar in The Living Daylights. Jaguar-Land Rover is providing around 70 vehicles in the form of support cars and those that will figure on screen such as the Jaguar XJ and Range Rover Evoque. Noakes says that production company EON is highly appreciative of the support.

"The films may be made with American money and producers, but James Bond is British and we try to make associations with British companies. Land Rover is one of the oldest and most well-known. We've had offers from other companies but we'd prefer not to take James Bond out of a British environment." The era of Bond behind the wheel of a BMW appears to have been consigned to the history books, for now at least.