Bond’s new wheels

Cars are as important to any James Bond story as guns and gadgets, and the Young Bond adventures are no exception.

In SilverFin – the first of Charlie Higson’s Young Bond novels, soon to be released as a full-cast audio drama – the teenage James Bond takes a ride in his Aunt Charmian’s battleship grey Bentley 4½ Litre.

This stylish sports car was manufactured by Bentley Motors between 1927 and 1931 and became an icon of pre-war British motor racing.

It’s now a key part of the visual design for the upcoming SilverFin audio drama, due for release in October.

The car featured in the photo shoot with Young Bond actor Isaac Rouse was a Bentley Blower Jnr provided by Hedley Studios, who create hand-built recreations of classic cars.

Ben Hedley, founder of Hedley Studios said: “The Bentley Blower Jnr is a fully electric recreation of one of the most iconic racing cars ever built. It takes the character, design and engineering spirit of the original 1920s Bentley Blower and brings it into an 85% scale modern reinterpretation, all while retaining the distinctive details that make the Bentley Blower so instantly recognisable.

“The car featured in the photoshoot is just one of 349 examples to be handcrafted worldwide. To see it brought to life in a Young Bond setting was particularly fitting; the Blower Jnr has exactly the sense of adventure and style that you associate with Bond.”

Writer and director Barnaby Edwards said: “The reality of espionage work is crashingly dull, as Ian Fleming knew better than almost anyone. That’s why his fictional spy, James Bond, leads a life that is the opposite of that humdrum existence: the exotic locations, the colourful villains, the outlandish plots, the beautiful women, the extraordinary gadgets, and above all the cars. Bond lives life in the fast lane.

“Rather brilliantly, Charlie Higson makes this a Bond family trait – his Aunt Charmian loves cars, his Uncle Max loves cars and teaches James to drive, and so it’s entirely natural that the teenage Bond should love cars too. Petroleum runs through the veins of the Bonds.”

Producer Robert Valentine added: “The reason that cars are so important to a Bond story is very simple; it’s because cars were very important to Ian Fleming. There are actually two iconic cars in SilverFin: Aunt Charmian’s Bentley 4½ Litre – the ‘Blower’ Bentley – and Uncle Max’s Bamford and Martin, in which James learns to drive.

“Bond obtains his own battleship grey Bentley Blower in 1933, not long after the events of SilverFin, and it’s a car which the adult Bond is still driving in the first three of the Fleming novels, namely Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, and Moonraker.”

SilverFin is comprised of 16 half-hour episodes, making up approximately eight hours of full-cast audio drama. It will be released on 29 October 2026 as two box sets, available from www.bigfinish.com and www.ianflemingshop.com. Each box set can now be pre-ordered for just £24.99 (download to own) or £35.99 (download to own + collector’s edition CD).

Additionally, listeners can pre-order the two volumes together as a bundle, available in a number of premium tiers with strictly limited, exclusive collectable packages:

• Platinum (limited to just 300 copies worldwide): SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as collector’s edition CDs and digital downloads to own, plus an exclusive ‘Young Bond Intelligence Report’ magazine and commemorative collectables (notebook, mug, fridge magnet, and behind-the-scenes postcards), for £119.
• Gold (limited to just 300 copies worldwide): SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as collector’s edition CDs and digital downloads to own, plus commemorative collectables (notebook, mug, fridge magnet, and behind-the-scenes postcards), for £95.
• Silver: SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as collector’s edition CDs and digital downloads to own, for £68.
• Bronze: SilverFin Volumes 1 and 2 as digital downloads to own, for £48.

Copies of the SilverFin novel by Charlie Higson can also be purchased from the Big Finish website, for £6.99. And, the novel is available in a bundle with both volumes of the SilverFin audio drama, for £54 (with the audio drama as digital downloads to own) or £68 (with the audio drama on CD).

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All the above prices (including pre-order and multibuy bundle discounts) are fixed for a limited time only and guaranteed no later than 31 December 2026. 

Young Bond will be released digitally, followed by a special collector’s edition CD. Pre-orders of the CD will also unlock a digital copy which can be instantly downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.