James Bond’s submarine car Lotus Esprit sold for $850,000 at London auction

James Bond’s submarine car used in The Spy Who Loved Me has been sold for £550,000 ($850,000).

The Lotus Esprit sold for less than the guide price despite a bidding war between a woman in the auction room and a telephone bidder who took the prized collector’s piece.

The car, said to be fully operational, was used in the underwater scene of the 1977 film starring Roger Moore as 007.

After filming it toured various car shows before being stored in New York.

It was sold at RM Auctions in Battersea, south-west London, for less than the estimated price of between £650,000 ($1.1 million) and £950,000 ($1.5 million).

The car had previously been auctioned as a blind lot in 1989.

Peter Haynes, from the auction house, said: “Bearing in mind it is not a car that can be driven on the road, the price just goes to prove the draw that all Bond-related memorabilia has.”