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| James Bond's submarine Lotus Esprit surfaces for auction | James Bond's submarine Lotus Esprit surfaces for auction |
| (3 months later) | |
| The famous submarine-car driven by Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me is going on sale later this year. The Lotus Esprit Series 1 will be put up for auction in London's Battersea Park in September. | The famous submarine-car driven by Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me is going on sale later this year. The Lotus Esprit Series 1 will be put up for auction in London's Battersea Park in September. |
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| According to RM Auctions, the car was kept in a Long Island storage unit for a decade after being used in the film, and ended up being bought in 1989 by a couple who purchased its container with no idea of the contents. | According to RM Auctions, the car was kept in a Long Island storage unit for a decade after being used in the film, and ended up being bought in 1989 by a couple who purchased its container with no idea of the contents. |
| It is also the only version of the car that was built to be a fully operational submarine; six others were built for shooting the different stages of transformation from car to submarine. It was thought to cost over £300,000 in today's money to design and build the car. | It is also the only version of the car that was built to be a fully operational submarine; six others were built for shooting the different stages of transformation from car to submarine. It was thought to cost over £300,000 in today's money to design and build the car. |
| The submarine's buyer will be unlikely to use it as it was reportedly very hard to handle. In the film it was operated by a former Navy SEAL who had to wear a scuba mask due to the cabin not being pressurised. | The submarine's buyer will be unlikely to use it as it was reportedly very hard to handle. In the film it was operated by a former Navy SEAL who had to wear a scuba mask due to the cabin not being pressurised. |
| Other recent Bond memorabilia sales include the swimming trunks worn by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, which sold last year for £44,450 at auction, while in 2010 the pistol held by Connery in the From Russia With Love poster reached $437,501 (£290,000), even though it was never seen in the film. (The actual gun was forgotten on the day of the photo shoot, so the photographer's air pistol was used.) An Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger and Thunderball was sold for £3m, making it one of the most expensive pieces of film memorabilia in the world. | Other recent Bond memorabilia sales include the swimming trunks worn by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, which sold last year for £44,450 at auction, while in 2010 the pistol held by Connery in the From Russia With Love poster reached $437,501 (£290,000), even though it was never seen in the film. (The actual gun was forgotten on the day of the photo shoot, so the photographer's air pistol was used.) An Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger and Thunderball was sold for £3m, making it one of the most expensive pieces of film memorabilia in the world. |
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