say that James Bond is a business that moves mountains is an understatement, because beyond the money that produces this franchise with almost 50 years is the creation of an unrepeatable fictional character. Therefore, the news that it is going to be for sale one of the authentic Lotus Esprit S1 employees by Roger Moore in The spy who loved me (1977) has become a world event. More so, if we take into account that this car was attributed the quality of sailing under the sea and that the unit you see was the one used for the underwater recording scenes.
The front hides supposed machine gun exits.
The spy who loved me was the tenth film of the saga, and for its filming Lotus itself supplied two complete cars and seven bodies to EON Productions, the film’s production company. Of the bodies, one of them was cut in half to record the scenes in which James Bond shared a cabin with Major Anya Amasovam, the Agent XXX. another was fired from some kind of cannon from a dock and today it is presumed to have been destroyed. The third and fourth went to the Bahamas Islands as a gift from the producer (Albert R. Broccoli) to one of the film’s suppliers. The fifth was the one used for show how the side fins and periscope were deployed. The sixth was adapted with gadgets and was sold, and the seventh (in theory, partially functional as submarine, (if you can call that being able to move the propellers) was auctioned by RM Sotheby’s in 2013 and they paid for it 733,000 euros.
Lots of gadgets
It has not been specified which of them is the one that is now up for auction, but it has already been reported that it has stabilizer fins, periscope, torpedo launcher and four propellers drivers.
The body is authentic made by Lotus, but it is empty.
The car was acquired by a collector based in Brescia (Italy) in September 1998who sold it to another Italian collector in February 2002. Five years later it was in the hands of a collector Finnish and for two decades it was exhibited in the amusement park PowerPark, in Alaharma (Finland), until 2025 was subjected to a restoration of your bodywork. There was no more to restore, since lacks engine, running gear and interiorso its weight is reduced to 400kg with the support on which it is located and it is very easy to move.
The price they may pay for this piece of cinema (and motorsport) history will not foreseeably be as high as the one paid in 2013; in RM Sotheby’swhere they will auction it next April 25, They expect the maximum bid to be between the 200,000 and 300,000 euros. That is, what a flat can be worth in many provincial capitals. Whoever buys it will surely get a good capital gain when they sell it in a few years.
