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James Bond Lotus Esprit Submarine Headed For Sale
Of the dozen or so cars used by James Bond in 007 flicks one of the most well known and iconic car is the Lotus Esprit Series 1. Featured in the 1977 movie The Spy Who Loved Me, starring Roger Moore, the Lotus Esprit was an amphibious car, which was capable of underwater travel like a submarine.
This, almost legendary piece of original movie merchandise will be up for auction at RM Auction's event in London that will take place between September 8 & 9 in Battersea Park. The only other Bond car that is better known than the Esprit Series 1 would be the Aston Martin DB5 from the Sean Connery featured 1964 Goldfinger and 1965 Thunderball, and the recent Skyfall. It was only in 2010 that the Aston DB5 was auctioned for £2.9 million. We wonder how much the Lotus will fetch.
The Lotus Esprit Series 1 was specifically built for the movie at a cost of $100,000 then. At current rates that equals $500,000.
This fully functional self propelled submarine, made to look like the Lotus Esprit was built by Florida based Perry Oceanographic and was piloted by retired US Navy SEAL and Perry test pilot Don Griffin.
After completion of shooting the underwater scenes in Bahamas, the Lotus Esprit was put in cold storage in Long Island, New York. The storage place was rented for a period of 10 years, which expired in 1989. When no one came to claim it the car was put up for a 'blind' auction by a couple.
Surprisingly, the car was picked by a lucky chap who paid a modest amount for it. But boy oh boy, was everyone in for a surprise when the blind was pulled.
September's event will see the Lotus Esprit Series 1 going under the hammer only for the second time in its history. But this time everyone knows what they will be bidding for. How much do you reckon the car will fetch this time around? Will it beat the DB5?
You can watch the scene from the movie in the next slide.
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