License to economize: Ford Ka gets Bond debut

DETROIT (Reuters) - James Bond has outrun evildoers in a BMW with rocket launchers, a high-performance Mustang and an Aston Martin with an ejector seat.

But now, at a time of record gas prices, is the super-spy ready for a minicar?

Ford Motor Co said on Thursday its redesigned Ka city car would debut in the upcoming Bond film "Quantum of Solace," scheduled for release in North America on November 7.

The movie is the 22nd in the long-running franchise based on the books by author Ian Fleming about a secret agent who saves the world from villains, often after a high-speed chase in a gadget-heavy supercar.

Ford struck a three-movie contract with Bond producers, starting with "Die Another Day" in 2002. Financial terms were not disclosed.

In his 2006 debut as 007, British actor Daniel Craig appeared behind the wheel of a Ford Mondeo sedan and was flipped at high-speed in an Aston Martin, a legendary Bond ride and a luxury brand then-owned by Ford.

Pictures from the "Quantum Solace" set show actress Olga Kurylenk, the latest Bond girl, behind the wheel of a golden Ford Ka.

Ford declined to say whether Bond would take a ride in its upcoming minicar, which will go on sale in Europe and other markets outside the United States.

Action sequences involving sports cars in the latest Bond movie have caused several mishaps.

In April, a stuntman was hospitalized with serious injuries suffered in an accident behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo sports car in northern Italy.

Days before, British media reported that another car to be used in the production, an Aston Martin DBS, skidded off the road into a lake, but the driver escaped with minor injuries.

Aston Martin is 50 percent owned by Kuwait's Investment Dar, part of a group that bought the brand from Ford last year for $956 million.

Sony Pictures Entertainment, a unit of Sony Corp, is the distributor of the film.

(Reporting by David Bailey, editing by Richard Chang)