Hammond tells the story behind the Aston Martins and the Lotus Esprit; unarguably the seminal Bond cars. He also gets behind the wheel of the original DB5, complete with gadgets, and uncovers the story of how the Aston Martin landed the role of 007’s wheels, of how the great Goldfinger chase sequence was put together, and how Lotus cunningly took over the job in the 1970s.

Top Gear also talks to ex-Bond, Sir Roger Moore, and crew members such as directors, Guy Hamilton and Vic Armstrong about the creation of the Bond action sequences, revealing the stories behind some of the most important and memorable action sequences on film.

Inspired by some of the greatest gadgets, Hammond gets in on the action to build his own Bond Car On A Budget. These include his recession hit take on the Die Another Day invisible Aston Martin Vanquish, and doing something even the Bond film-makers themselves could never achieve; build a working underwater submarine Lotus sports car.

With unprecedented access to letters, documents, stills and footage, Hammond reveals some of the secrets about Fleming’s obsession with cars and how Sean Connery’s stature shaped Japanese car design.

Hammond also visits the set of the latest film and reports on the car sequences, and talks to Daniel Craig about his training sessions on the Top Gear track with the former Stig.

Top Gear: 50 Years of Bond Cars will be broadcast from Wednesday, 5 December at 20:00 on BBC Entertainment, channel 120 on DStv.