James Bond submarine car up for auction

A piece of James Bond movie history could be yours, for a price tag of approximately seven figures. Bond’s iconic submarine-car, seen in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me, will hit the auction block in London on September 8th. The 007 Lotus Esprit S1 spent its time underwater in the Bahamas, and once filming wrapped, it was soon forgotten and kept away in a storage unit for 10 years. Caretakers failed to make rent payments and so in 1989 an anonymous couple purchased the container with no idea as to what was in it. Since then the submarine car hasn’t made any public appearances.

The fully operational vehicle cost approximately $100,000 to make, which is equivalent to more than $400,000 in today’s U.S. dollars. The selling price of the car is unknown and no guesses have been made by the auction house, RM Auctions. However, Bond memorabilia has been known to sell for high figures, with some items like the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 selling for $4.4 million in 2010, making it one of the most expensive pieces of film memorabilia in the world. In 2011 a Rolex Oyster worn in 1973’s Live and Let Die sold for $231,800 and just last month a watch from the 1965 Bond movie Thunderball sold for $160,000. It’s safe to say whoever hopes to be parking this car in their garage, will be pulling out the big bucks.  ~Naomi Leanage