Michael Satterfield
by TGR Staff
Honda is delighted to announce its
partnership with the upcoming James Bond film, Skyfall, and today
unveiled the actual Honda machines used in the film, at the National
Motor Museum in Beaulieu.
Honda’s CRF250R motorcycle proved to be the machine of choice by the
007 film’s action vehicles and stunt crew teams. These motorbikes were modified for the opening sequence of the 23rd James Bond film which was shot in Istanbul and Adana, Turkey earlier this year.
‘dressed’ appropriately into two native style motorbikes. One is a
Turkish police bike that henchman, Patrice (Ola Rapace), seizes after a
policeman crashes, the other is a Turkish merchant’s bike that James
Bond (Daniel Craig) uses to pursue Patrice through the streets. Both
bikes feature extensive modifications courtesy of Chris Corbould’s
award-winning Special Effects team.
Two CRF450R motorbikes were further chosen for use as HD camera
filming machines, as only a motorbike could easily enable the camera
crew to keep up with the chase scene and follow the various stunts.
Stunt Co-ordinator for Skyfall, Gary Powell, commented, “We needed a
highly versatile and quality off-road motorbike that could be easily
modified, without compromising performance or safety, for the opening
sequence of Skyfall. Honda’s CRFs are probably the best off-roaders out
there so it’s great that we’ve been able to partner with Honda as the
bikes, whilst heavily modified, were superb to work with.”
Honda (UK) Corporate Communications Manager, Fiona Cole, said, “We’re
delighted to be a partner for Skyfall and are very much looking forward
to seeing our Honda CRFs in action in the film and rolling out some
great associated activities we’ve got planned from October when the film
is released. We like to try and do things differently at Honda,
including finding innovative, yet relevant ways to showcase our diverse
products, whilst also really engaging with our customers. It’s great to
not only have Honda machines chosen as the choice of Bond, but also to
be working with such a longstanding film franchise.”
The Skyfall ‘Police’ and ‘Street Merchant’s’ bikes, alongside the
unmodified and original Honda CRF250R, were unveiled today at the famous
National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, which is currently hosting the BOND
IN MOTION exhibition until 31 December 2012. The exhibition, the largest
of its kind, celebrates 50 years of the James Bond films and showcases
50 of the best-loved and most iconic Bond vehicles.
To mark the occasion, Honda (UK) is offering twenty pairs of tickets
to the BOND IN MOTION exhibition at Beaulieu, to lucky winners who enter
Honda’s exclusive competition on its Twitter feed (@Honda_UK) before
midnight on Sunday 22 July. Further activities surrounding Honda (UK)’s
association with Skyfall will be announced over the coming months on
www.honda.co.uk, Facebook/HondaCarsUK and Twitter @Honda_UK.
To see the versatile Honda CRF250Rs in action on screen and to enjoy
the latest Bond adventure, head to see Skyfall in cinemas from 26
October.
About Honda
Honda is the world’s largest engine manufacturer and provides a broad
product range encompassing cars, motorcycles and power equipment
(including marine, energy, lawn and garden and ATV). From 2012, this
extends to aviation with the all-new HondaJet, with the development of
mobility devices inspired by Honda’s robotics division and humanoid
robot ASMIO further featuring strongly in the company’s R&D for
future products. In 2010, Honda sold over 17 million motorcycles, 3.5
million cars and over 5 million power products worldwide. It has 66
production plants in 28 countries. Honda employs over 175,000 people
around the world, including 4,000 in the UK. Honda has a strong
environmental heritage. It was the first company to commercially market a
hydrogen fuel cell car, the first company in its industry to recycle
water in its manufacturing plants and achieves zero waste-to-landfill at
its manufacturing plant in the UK. For more information visit
www.honda.co.uk .
About Bond / Eon Productions
EON Productions Limited and Danjaq LLC are wholly owned and controlled
by the Broccoli/Wilson family. Danjaq is the US based company that
co-owns, with MGM, the copyright in the existing James Bond films and
controls the right to produce future James Bond films as well as all
worldwide merchandising. EON Productions, an affiliate of Danjaq, is the
UK based production company which makes the James Bond films. The 007
franchise is the longest running in film history with twenty-two films
produced since 1962. Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli succeeded
Albert R ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and have produced some of the most successful
Bond films ever including CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE. They are
currently producing the 23rd film, SKYFALL.
Source: Honda
