In a matter of minutes she has gone from being, on the face of it, an automotive agnostic to a true believer. It reassures the doubters of her credibility at the Louis Vuitton Classic.
"I love old cars. I like the sort of cars that kids draw. Boxy designs, distinctive designs. My dream car for years has been the Mercedes SL from the 1960's," she says. "I used to be able to name every car on the street when I was a kid. I guess I was between about four and six years old. And I used to ask for toy garages for presents."
Pike has no idea where her tomboy traits came from. Her upbringing was very English middle class, albeit by parents who were opera singers. "I grew up with Volvos. You know the big old square ones. I remember sitting in the back of them on those flip down child seats."
Rosamund Pike still likes a great adventure by car. She is researching a coast-to-coast journey across America. It is a trip which must wait for a hole in her hectic filming schedule. She has just finished making The Libertine with Johnny Depp. Next up is the role of Jane in Pride and Prejudice.
"A dream of mine is to do a big Chevy drive. Something like New Orleans to Los Angeles. Maybe including Route 66," she says as we wander past a gaggle of Yank tanks, including the iconic Dodge Charger. "Bizarrely I recently made a film on Israel's Route 66 called (Israel's) Promised Land Hotel. It was a bit of a road movie. In Israel, Route 66 goes from Haifa to Tel Aviv and Nazareth I think. I'd like to drive the real one."
Pike has no desire to star in or watch great car movies like Bullitt or Ronin. "I certainly wouldn't watch a film for cars," she says. "The kind of films with big car chases are not my kind of film. Having said that, it was unfortunate I never got to drive any of the fantastic cars on Die Another Day. They'd get stunt drivers to do that.
"One night though, Toby (Stephens) and I thought our luck was in. We had to shoot a scene where the Lamborghini and Ferrari were driven up into the plane. We hoped it would be our big chance. But in the end the stunt drivers got to do it."
To rub salt into her wound, after starring as Bond in Die Another Day, Pierce Brosnan has ended up with one of the Aston Martin Vanquishes in his garage. Albeit one without the rockets and the guided machine guns. No such luck for double-crossing Pike. Rosamund walked away with a nice cheque and a raised profile but no car. Not for now.
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