Guide: Lotus Esprit S1 - The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me
The Spy Who Loved Me was the tenth James Bond film and the third to star Roger Moore as British secret agent, 007. It was also the first official Bond picture not to be produced by the original Saltzman-Broccoli partnership after Harry Saltzman sold his share of Eon Productions to United Artists in 1975.
The typically far-fetched plot centred around megalomaniac, Karl Stromberg, who, with missiles captured from American and Russian submarines, planned to wipe out mankind from the surface of the Earth. Stromberg (Curt Jurgens) would take cover in his undersea kingdom and then become the planet’s supreme ruler.
The ten years that followed 1967’s You Only Live Twice with its Toyota 2000 GT Roadster had been a fallow time for feature-packed Bond cars. An Aston Martin DBS made a cameo appearance with George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service which was followed by some spirited driving by Sean Connery in a Ford Mustang during Diamonds Are Forever. However, for this 1977 release, Bond would get his hands on the most spectacular machine yet to emerge from Q Branch.
The production company decided a new Lotus Esprit would be the most appropriate set of wheels for 007. Just as Sean Connery had become inextricably linked to his Aston Martin DB5, Roger Moore and the Esprit would become an era defining partnership.
Launched in October 1975 at the Paris Motor Show, the Esprit was powered by a 160bhp, two-litre, dual overhead camshaft inline four cylinder engine with twin Dellorto carburettors. The Type 907 engine had an all-alloy construction and was coupled to a five-speed Citroen gearbox. The backbone chassis with its fully independent suspension was draped in a fibreglass body created by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Ital Design.
A pair of complete S1 Esprits were loaned to producer, Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, one of which was principally used as a camera car.
Additionally, a number of waterproofed examples were built in various configurations for the scenes where the Lotus would be required to operate as a submersible.
Q-branch Modifications
Three types of vehicle were built for the aquatic scenes: a waterproofed Esprit able to drive into and out of the water, a second that could transform from car to submarine and a third that was essentially a submarine with an Esprit body.
To turn the Esprit into a functional underwater device, production designer, Ken Adams, and special effects supervisor, Derek Meddings, were assisted by Perry Oceanographics, a firm that specialised in midget subs. However, as the Esprit was designed to generate negative lift, it wasn’t an easy shape to keep off the seabed.
With adjustable planes at each corner, four electric drive units, steering vanes at the back and two rear-mounted vertical stabilising vertical fins, the team managed to create an operable sub out of an Esprit body.
The submersible was crewed by a pair of divers, but there was no reverse thrust which meant the only way to slow the 15-knot machine was by switching off the motors. The occupants then had to let it settle on the sea floor before being lifted back up to the surface by a team of three divers.
On screen, the transformation from car to submarine seemed straightforward; the retractable wheels would fold away beneath extendable covers while various fins, rudders and propeller units sprouted from the bodywork. Distinctive black reinforcement bars emerged to protect the glass from caving-in under pressure.
As with any Q Branch machine, the Esprit was packed with gadgets. They included cement dispensers that emerged from the rear number plate housing and surface-to-air missiles.
Once submerged, depth charges, torpedoes and harpoons could be deployed along with a smoke screen, periscope and self-destruct system.
The dashboard doubled as a submarine control system with radar and nautical guidance equipment.
On Screen
In the film, the Esprit was delivered personally by Q (Desmond Llewelyn) to Bond and Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) in Sardinia.
Upon heading out for a spirited test drive, Bond and Amasova soon found themselves being tailed by one of Stromberg’s henchman riding a motorbike complete with explosives-packed detachable sidecar.
After they successfully evaded the anonymous motorcyclist, Bond was confronted by a car full of Stromberg’s cronies including Jaws (Richard Kiel). This unsavoury bunch were dispatched thanks to the cement sprayer.
For its most spectacular scene, the Esprit was chased down by a helicopter gunship piloted by Stromberg’s assistant, Naomi (Caroline Munro). With little chance against such overwhelming firepower, Bond drove off a pier and into the sea.
Once underwater, the Esprit made its transformation into a sub with the wheels folding in, fins emerging on either side, propellers extending from the back and a periscope rising from the roof. The surface-to-air missiles were then fired to destroy Naomi’s helicopter.
Afterwards, Bond piloted the sub to Stromberg’s Atlantis HQ where the torpedoes, underwater smoke screen and limpet mines came in useful.
With the underwater action over, the Esprit’s submarinal gadgetry folded away and the Lotus drove up onto a beach packed with startled onlookers.
The Spy Who Loved Me Release
Produced on a budget of $14m The Spy Who Loved Me had its premiere on July 7th 1977 and went on to gross $185.4m at the worldwide box office.
Subsequent Histories
As for the two operational Esprits that survived filming, chassis 76070122G was retained by Lotus until July 1998. It was sold by Coys at the Silverstone Historic Festival auction for £32,935 at which point it had covered 19,404 miles.
The other example, chassis 76090187G, was returned to Lotus straight after filming. It was put back to standard trim and sold off.
The functional submersible was sold by Eon Productions to US Lotus distributor, Fred Stevenson, who wanted it for promotional use.
In 1979, it was put into a storage unit in Holbrook, New York with a ten year lease paid up front. The lease expired in 1989 and, with no sign of the leaseholder, the contents of the locker were put up for sale in a blind auction. The purchaser retained their surprise acquisition until September 2013 when it was sold to Elon Musk for £616,000 at the RM Sotheby’s auction in London.
Two of the other submersible models from the film did not lead such a sheltered life.
They remained in the Bahamas where most of the underwater scenes were filmed. Cubby Broccoli gifted them to Roberts Used Car Lot & Scrap Metal Company as momentos from the film; Mr Roberts had supplied the cranes used to raise and lower all the equipment into and out of the ocean each day.
The more complete of the two subs was re-painted red, positioned outside Roberts’ premises and decorated with multi-coloured lights. The other was dumped on a milk float.
Eventually entombed with weeds, they remained in this sorry state until 1988 when both were rescued.
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: MGM Studios - https://www.mgm.com
