One of the most famous cars of all time the Lotus Esprit, specially designed for the 1977 film featuring Roger Moore as 007, is said to be still fully operational underwater.
The record price for an ex-Bond car – also sold through RM Auctions – was set in 2010, when the Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger sold for £2.9 million.
Raymond Benson, author of seven “official” posthumous Bond books, said: “I never used an underwater car in any of my Bond novels, but the Lotus in the film is one of my favourite vehicles in the 007 universe!”
Although six Esprit bodyshells were used in filming, only one was converted to a fully operational submarine car. The work was carried out by Perry Oceanographic, a company based in Riviera Beach, Florida, and was reported to have cost more than $100,000 dollars.
In conjunction with the 1977 release of The Spy Who Loved Me, U.S. Lotus executive distributor Fred Stevenson took the car for display at auto shows but it was later shipped to Long Island, New York, where it was kept in a storage unit.
In 1989, as the rent on the unit had not been paid it was put up “blind” at public auction a local couple who bought the lot for a modest price were surprised to find the iconic 007 Submarine Car hidden inside underneath blankets.
Doug Redenius, the co-founder of The Ian Fleming Foundation, said: “The roof had been damaged, but it was otherwise wholly intact. It’s new (and current) owners recount that, whilst towing it home, the CB radios of highway truckers were all abuzz about the sighting of the famed Lotus.”
Dubbed “Wet Nellie” on the set, the Lotus is often picked as the favourite film car of all time.
In conjunction with the 1977 release of The Spy Who Loved Me, U.S. Lotus (Lotus East) executive distributor Fred Stevenson took the car for display at auto shows.
Eventually, the car was shipped to Long Island, New York, where it was kept in a storage unit.
In 1989, as the rent on the unit had not been paid it was put up “blind” at public auction a local couple who bought the lot for a modest price were surprised to find the iconic 007 Submarine Car hidden inside underneath blankets.
Doug Redenius, the co-founder of The Ian Fleming Foundation, said: “The roof had been damaged, but it was otherwise wholly intact. It’s new (and current) owners recount that, whilst towing it home, the CB radios of highway truckers were all abuzz about the sighting of the famed Lotus.”
Breaking with tradition a Bond movie tradition, Q was never given the opportunity to explain the features of the Lotus to 007, so it shocked the audience as it transformed itself into a submarine and flew off the side of the jetty in the infamous car chase.
It moves forward through a bank of four propellers, the electric motors of which are driven by batteries housed in a water-tight compartment.
The articulated fins are adjusted with mechanical levers that are operated by its driver and underwater, the Lotus has a turning circle of around 20 feet.
Its dive and climb performance is regulated by ballast tanks and it was fitted with mechanically operated enclosures that reveal the missile launchers in the front, a smoke screen exhaust in the rear, and a mine hatch on the bottom.
The stream of air bubbles which follow the vehicle in the film were actually generated with Alka-Seltzer tablets.
Max Girardo, managing director of RM Auctions Europe, said: "We have a great track record in selling incredible and iconic movie cars, and this particular Lotus is certainly up there amongst the most famous cars of all time.
"Over the years, millions of movie-goers have stared in awe as the Lotus transformed itself into a submarine, and now, perhaps one of them will have an opportunity to own it. Her Majesty's Secret Service aside, it surely is the ultimate beach accessory."
Source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/jamesbond/10295510/James-Bonds-Lotus-submarine-car-goes-under-the-hammer.html
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