Licence to drive audiences wild

The most popular screen vehicle of all time in Britain is the white Lotus Esprit James Bond used in the 1974 adventure The Spy Who Loved Me.

A survey of 1000 people by online news portal yahoo.com found that secret agent 007's Lotus was a clear favourite, with 29 per cent of the vote.

"Although there are loads of classic film vehicles out there, our search showed the modified Lotus Esprit was a worthy winner," said survey organiser Patrick Oqvist.

"With rear-firing mud sprayers, an underwater kit that changes the car into a fully operative submarine, surface-to-air missiles, underwater smoke screens and torpedoes, the most desirable screen vehicle has to be Bond's Lotus."

The survey revealed that cars such as the DeLorean in Back to the Future, the Mini from The Italian Job, and the Reliant Robin from TV's Only Fools and Horses had more of a screen presence than the Ford Mustang actor Steve McQueen used in the 1968 classic car chase film Bullitt.

Lady Penelope's pink Rolls-Royce from the TV puppet series Thunderbirds didn't make the survey's top 10 list, although the recent auction on ebay.com of the scale model car, and the movie of the series has kept the puppet characters in the headlines.

Results

29 per cent - Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me.

17 per cent - Kitt from Knight Rider and the De Lorean from Back To The Future.

10 per cent - Batmobile from Batman.

9 per cent - Mini from The Italian Job .

6 per cent - 1967 Ford Gran Torino from Starsky & Hutch.

5 per cent - A-Team van from The A-Team TV series.

2 per cent - Danny Zucko's Greased Lightning custom car from Grease; Volkswagen Beetle Herbie from Herbie Goes Bananas; Reliant Robin from Only Fools & Horses.