Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED: Night flight!

Continuing our special 40th anniversary celebration of John Gardner's License Renewed with another illustration by Rick Tulka. These appeared in a New York Post serialization of the book in July/August 1981 and are from the collection of our good friend Delmo Walters Jr.

This time Tulka shows us Bond's late night escape from Anton Murik's Scottish castle in his fully equipped Saab 900 Turbo.

Yes, James Bond drove a Saab in the first three John Gardner books, and it was awesome! At least I thought so. Check out my post: BOND'S BEAST - WHEN OO7 DROVE A SAAB.

Tomorrow: Sniper's roost

Video: John Gardner with James Bond's "SILVER BEAST"

This year marks the 35th anniversary of John Gardner's first James Bond continuation novel, License Renewed. That book ushered in a new era of James Bond continuation novels that are still going strong today. Here is a Clip from a 1981 ATV interview with John Gardner featuring the promotional Saab 900 Turbo that toured the UK during the book's launch.

The Saab 900 aka "The Silver Beast" has always been a personal favorite Bond car. Read: BOND'S BEAST - WHEN OO7 DROVE A SAAB.

Thanks to Brian McKaig and Simon Gardner for this one.

SILVER BEAST for your toy shelf

Check out this scale replica of James Bond's Saab 900 Turbo ("The Silver Beast") from the John Gardner 007 books. This sold on eBay a while back. It doesn't appear to be an official release – the Saab used here is actually a later model than what Bond drove in the books – but it's still pretty cool!

Wouldn't it be fun of IFP got together with a toy company and produced official replicas of the James Bond novels cars?

You can read all about the history of Bond's Saab here: BOND'S BEAST - WHEN OO7 DROVE A SAAB.

Erik Carlsson, 1929-2015

Erik Carlsson, a.k.a. "Mr. Saab", has passed away at age 86. Carlsson was an international rally racing star who assisted author John Gardner in research for his third James Bond novel, Icebreaker. Gardner thanked Carlsson by including him in the book:

Bond then flew via Helsinki to Rovaniemi, to meet up with driving experts, like his old friend Erik Carlsson and the dapper Simo Lampinen. The Driving Course took only a few days, and after a word to the massive Erik Carlsson, who promised to keep an eye on the Silver Beast, he left the hotel near Rovaniemi in the early hours of a bitterly cold morning.

Later Carlsson brings Bond's Saab 900 Turbo north and leaves 007 a note in his glove compartment which reads:

Good luck, Whatever You're Doing... Remember what I've taught you about the left foot!!! -Erik.

Read Erik Carlsson's obituary at The Telegraph.

Irish Motorist on 007's SAAB and that bloody Alan Dukes!

Reader Donal Rogers from Ireland has sent over this terrific article from the June 1983 issue of Irish Motorist about James Bond's new choice of car, the Saab 900 Turbo. Of course, by 1983 we were three books into the John Gardner cycle, so I'm not sure how "new" the Saab really was at this time. But it's a fun article and I especially love the mid-article rant about...Alan Dukes?

Donal tells me, "Alan Dukes was the Irish Minister for Finance at the time the article and so would have been responsible for difficult national budgets at a time of severe economic crisis for Ireland in the early 1980s."

I also like the expression of dismay that Bond is "now a regular jogger." I had to think about it, but I do recall that Bond does go jogging while at the Anton Murik estate in License Renewed, but I'm pretty sure it's so he can surveil the property.

Anyway, enjoy this blast from Ireland's past.

Click to enlarge.

Thank you Donal.

From Italy FOR SPECIAL SERVICES

This is an Italian trade paperback edition of John Gardner's second James Bond novel, For Special Services (1982), with terrific cover art. Apart from the Conneryesque silhouette, the Saab, and the oh-so-'80s Bond girl, I love that the gun Bond is holding is the Heckler & Koch VP70, which is unique to this book. Gardner tried three different handguns for 007 before settling on the ASP in his fourth book, Role of Honor.

All the John Gardner James Bond novels were recently reprinted. Visit The Book Bond's special Gardner Renewed page for links to all the Gardner-Bond reprints in the U.S. and UK.

LICENSE RENEWED Finnish edition

I'm re-reading John Gardner's first James Bond novel, License Renewed, and I just finished the chapter in which Bond attempts his nighttime escape from Murik Castle in his Saab. It made me think of this cover, so I've plucked it off the shelf and gave it a scan for us. This is the Finnish first edition hardcover featuring a close but not quite 007 movie logo and a (red?) Saab. I love it.

All the John Gardner James Bond novels were recently reprinted. Visit The Book Bond's special Gardner Renewed page for links to all the Gardner-Bond reprints in the U.S. and UK.

Top Gear looks at the history of SAAB

Here is a terrific history of the Saab Motor Company from Top Gear. This will help all you youngsters understand why it wasn't unusual at all that John Gardner put 007 in a Saab in 1980. They sing the praises of the Saab 99 Turbo, which was the predecessor to Bond's 900 Turbo. Unfortunately, they don't include Bond's car in their story, but it's still worth watching. And like the Top Gear guys, I too am going to miss Saab.

Click here to head my own history of James Bond's Saab.

The SILVER BEAST has been saved!

According to our friends at From Sweden With Love, the promotional Saab 900 Turbo from the John Gardner era, "The Silver Beast", will remain in Trollhättan, Sweden as part of the intact Saab Museum collection. As we reported last week, the entire collection had been put up for auction as part of Saab's recent bankruptcy. But according to a post on the From Sweden With Love Facebook page...

"We have just received the good news that all cars in the SAAB museum (incl. "Silver Beast", the SAAB 900 Turbo as driven by James Bond in John Gardners first three novels) will remain in Trollhättan, Sweden. 500 offers from all over the world came in but thanks to the local community, Saab AB (the defense and security company) and the Wallenberg family (who used to own the car factory), the museum will be intact. The entities mentioned paid 28 Million SEK for the entire lot and rescued a piece of Swedish industrial history from being departed all over the world."

Great news for Bond fans, Saab fans, and the city of Trollhättan!

Click here to read the story of: Bond's Beast - When OO7 Drove Saab.

James Bond's SILVER BEAST is for sale

UPDATE: It appears the city of Trollhättan has prevailed and the collection, including The Silver Beast, has been saved!

The promotional replica of James Bond's famous Saab -- the "Silver Beast" -- is going on the auction block along with the contents of Saabs motor museum in Trollhättan, Sweden. The sale is part of Saab's recent bankruptcy.

James Bond drove the Saab in the first three John Gardner continuation novels, License Renewed, For Special Services, and Icebreaker. It's always been a favorite Bond vehicle of mine (check out my overview of the car here), especially as I had my own "Saab 007" in the '80s. Wish I could buy it!

Click to enlarge

The car is noted as being as being "a little rusty, will not start, not in a good condition." Mileage is 60,417. However, it does come equipped with the original bulletproof glass, smokescreen equipment, and digital head-ups instrument display from the Saab 37 Viggen fighter and attack aircraft.

Bids are being accepted until this Friday. However, my tipster tells me there's a chance that the collection and museum could be purchased and saved by the City of Trollhättan and the local municipality.

You can find details of the sale and full auction catalog here.

Thanks to Rikard Andersson for bringing me the news and translation.

Gardner's Cars

Anyone who has spent any time reading this blog or my posts at CBn know that I have a thing for the cars of the John Gardner era. Probably because I came of Bond-age in the '80s and owned a Saab 900 Turbo (license plate: "SAAB 007").

So I was pretty happy to nab this gem off eBay. This article from the September 4, 1985 issue or Autocar is all about Gardner's cars from Bond and before. I love it when he says, "I do like letting the horses out when the road is clear just to show them what the car will do." That sounds like the Gardner Bond voice to me. Anyway, this just arrived in the mail, so I thought I would share. Enjoy!

Click to enlarge

Click here to read: BOND'S BEAST - WHEN OO7 DROVE A SAAB.

LINK: The best Bond car ever

"James Bond is back in a Saab Turbo."

Say what?

That's right. When James Bond returned in 1980 in the first John Gardner novel License Renewed, the author gave 007 a "fuel efficient" Saab Turbo 900. The car was nicknamed "the Silver Beast" and it appeared in the next two books, For Special Services and Icebreaker. Most younger fans now balk at the idea of James Bond driving such a "common" car, but for my money the Saab was the greatest Bond spy car of them all precisely because it was a common car. But oh the secrets it hid under its hood.

Click here for my look back at Bond's Beast.

.