 Kingsley Amis , in The James Bond Dossier , noted that although Bond is a very good shot and the best in the Secret Service , he is still beaten by the instructor , something that added realism to Bond 's character . Amis identified a number of skills where Bond is very good , but is still beatable by others . These included skiing , hand @-@ to @-@ hand combat , underwater swimming and golf . Driving was also an ability Amis identified where Bond was good , but others were better ; one of those who is a better driver than Bond is Sir Hugo Drax , who causes Bond to write off his battleship @-@ grey supercharged Bentley 4 ½ Litre . Bond subsequently drives a Mark II Continental Bentley , which he uses in the remaining books of the series , although he is issued an Aston Martin DB Mark III with a homing device during the course of Goldfinger . 
