When a small business
owner bought a storage container in a blind auction for $100 he hoped he might
be able to double or even triple his money by selling its contents. But inside he discovered
one the world's most legendary film cars - and is now set to make at least
10,000 times what he paid for the container.
James Bond's Lotus Esprit
submarine car, which featured in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me, is going
up for auction in London where it is expected to reach $1million.
Its owner, who has chosen
to stay anonymous, found the car after buying the storage container in Long
Island in 1989. It is believed the Lotus
was left in storage by the production company which paid for the container for
10 years. But when the payment ran out and nobody came to collect it, it was
put up for sale. The man who bought it
earns a 'very modest' living through his business which rents out construction
tools.
He did not recognise the
car, which is not roadworthy, for what it was as he had reportedly never seen a
Bond film at the time. When he pulled the covers
off the car and found it had no wheels and a dented roof, he was less than
thrilled with his buy. But as he drove the car
home on the back of a truck, other drivers who recognized the vehicle radioed
him to tell him what it was, CNBC reported.
Back home he rented The
Spy Who Loved Me on video, and realised how valuable his find was. The Lotus was nicknamed
'Wet Nellie' during filming and was built by a former Navy SEAL at a cost of
around $100,000 - the equivalent to $500,000 today. Although Roger Moore
starred as Bond in the film, the submarine car was driven by retired Navy SEAL
Don Griffin during underwater filming.
There were actually
several different Lotus Esprits used to film the sequence where Roger Moore and
Barbara Bach escape the enemy by driving off a pier into the sea. The car up for sale is the
only one that worked as a self-propelled submarine. Since its discovery the
car has been exhibited from time to time but largely kept with its private
owner.
Now it will go under the
hammer at RM Auctions in London on September 9, after James Bond expert Doug
Redenius tracked down its owner and confirmed the Lotus's authencity. He told CNBC that he had
told the owner to expect his fortunes to change 'dramatically'.
He said: 'I said
"Come September 9th, be prepared for your life and your wife and your
children—your life is going to change dramatically." And he said
"well, how so" and I said "First of all, you're going to go down
in history as the guy who found the James Bond car. But then if it sells for
what we're hoping, that money will give you an opportunity to live very
comfortably for the rest of your life."'
Max Girardo, managing
director of RM Auctions Europe, said: 'Over the years, millions of moviegoers
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.'
The 1964 Aston Martin DB5
driven by Sean Connery in Goldfinger and Thunderball was sold by RM Auctions
for $4.4million in 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment