When it comes to company cars, being a licensed-to-kill special agent has its perks. James Bond, after all, gets to drive Aston Martins equipped with non-factory-installed-options that would make our rush-hour commutes so much more efficient.

Times are tough all over, and rumors of downsizing 007’s ride for the next Bond film are already starting to circulate. We’d understand if the producers put him in an Aston Martin V8 Vantage instead of an Aston Martin DBS, or maybe even in a Lotus Evora S, since Bond previously drove both a Lotus Esprit S1 and a Lotus Esprit Turbo.

We can’t, however, picture James Bond behind the wheel of a 237-horsepower 2012 Range Rover Evoque, no matter how many lasers, machine guns, rocket boosters or missiles it may be equipped with. In fact, the Evoque, stylish and sensible though it may be, is the very antithesis of what James Bond should be driving.

We may be getting wet before it rains, but MSN Cars is reporting that a 2012 Range Rover Evoque has been delivered to Pinewood Studios, where work is already underway on the next Bond film. Granted, the movie’s release isn’t until November of 2012, and there are plenty of other reasons why a studio would order up a new car.

If the Evoque does appear in “Bond 23” it may even be driven by someone other than Bond himself, and we can easily see the sensible crossover in a supporting role. We’re just not excited about the prospects of a chase scene involving an Evoque, unless Bond is escaping from a crazed mob of Prius-driving ecoterrorists.

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