We decided to take a long look at the very best car chases from the last 40-odd years. From James Bond's Aston Martin to the retro-muscle car bravado of Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.

GOLDFINGER (1964)

There are better Bond car chases but Goldfinger sums up the 007 appeal. A car to die for in the Aston Martin DB5, stylishly phoney back projection, an explosive over the cliff car wreck, a brief pause in the chase to make room for a gunfight, and then another chase just when the audience thinks the excitement is over. Goldfinger made Bond more vulnerable – he is ultimately captured because a machine gun wielding granny ruins his windscreen – and also established the chase around a cardboard box strewn industrial site that would become a staple of TV cop dramas.

NEXT