VEHICLE ARCHIVE | 1977 LOTUS ESPRIT S1 “WET NELLIE”

1977 LOTUS ESPRIT S1 “WET NELLIE”

Used in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

When Q (Desmond Llewelyn) presents Roger Moore’s Bond with a Lotus Esprit S1 for his mission in Sardinia, it appears to be an ordinary road-going vehicle. However, after driving the Lotus off of a pier to avoid shipping magnate Karl Stromberg’s (Curt Jurgens) agents, Bond reveals the Esprit’s unique capabilities. Once underwater the car, also known as “Wet Nellie,” converts into a submarine with surface-to-air missiles, torpedoes, a smoke screen, and a mine launcher. This is one of seven wet submersibles built for filming, each meant to represent stages of the Lotus’s transformation.

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