How 8,400 gallons of Coke kept 007 on his motorbike in No Time To Die 

How 8,400 gallons of Coke kept 007 on his motorbike in No Time To Die

Everyone knows how partial James Bond is to a vodka martini, shaken but not stirred.

However, the making of the latest 007 film involved vast quantities of a rather different drink – Coca-Cola.

The producers of No Time To Die paid £55,000 for 8,400 gallons of Coke to make cobbled streets at one filming location less slippery for a motorcycle stunt.

Crew members spent hours splashing it around Matera in southern Italy ahead of a spectacular bike jump over a 60ft wall.

James Bond on a motorcycle in the much-anticipated new 007 film, No Time To Die 

Daniel Craig fighting in the streets of Matera, during filming of the new 007 production

Daniel Craig fighting in the streets of Matera, during filming of the new 007 production

The producers of No Time To Die paid £55,000 for 8,400 gallons of Coke to make cobbled streets at one filming location less slippery for a motorcycle stunt

The producers of No Time To Die paid £55,000 for 8,400 gallons of Coke to make cobbled streets at one filming location less slippery for a motorcycle stunt

The plan was to let the drink dry, leaving a sticky residue that would help the 450cc bike grip the cobbles better when it landed.

For the spectacle, stunt rider Paul Edwards had to hit a 25ft ramp at 60mph to clear the wall and land on the cobbles.

Stunt boss Lee Morrison said star Daniel Craig had come up with the idea and told him about it in a late-night phone call, adding: ‘I spent nearly €60,000 spraying Coca-Cola around Matera. I’ve been spraying Coca-Cola on slippery surfaces for a very long time.’

He told Total Film magazine that the drink also ‘makes things look very clean after it washes off’.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that, unusually, Bond will not appear in the action sequence that traditionally precedes the title credits.

The last time 007 was left out of the scene was when Roger Moore made his debut in 1973’s Live And Let Die. 

In previous opening sequences, the spy has skied off the edge of a mountain before pulling open a Union Jack parachute (The Spy Who Loved Me), made a 750ft bungee jump off a Swiss dam (GoldenEye) and fought a fleeing mercenary on the roof of a speeding train (Skyfall).

The Wall Street Journal described the opening scene of No Time To Die as ‘visually arresting… and entirely Bond-free’.

Bond expert Piers Bracher said the films used ‘a fixed recipe’, adding: ‘It is a predictable formula. That’s why we all like it – or hate it – so much.’ No Time To Die is said to be Craig’s final outing as 007. It is due out in April after being delayed twice by the pandemic.