In 1989, two men were unpacking a container when they found something surprising beneath blankets—a white sports car. At first, they had no idea what they had stumbled upon. To their amazement, it turned out to be the famous underwater car from The Spy Who Loved Me. The car, used by Roger Moore’s James Bond in a thrilling mountain chase scene before transforming into a submarine, was called “Wet Nellie.” Built in the 1970s, the car had cost over $100,000 at the time.
Impressed by its unique design, the two men took the car to a specialist. That’s when they realized it was a rare Lotus Esprit from the Bond film. Over the years, the car’s value skyrocketed, and today, it’s worth up to $1 million. The movie used eight Lotus Esprits, with some used for underwater scenes and others for chases.
In 2013, 24 years after its discovery, the car was sold at a London auction for $997,000. The buyer was none other than Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. He bought the car with plans to modify it by installing a Tesla electric drivetrain, making it a functional submarine just like in the movie.
James Bond cars have always fetched high prices at auctions. For example, a stunt car used in Goldfinger (Aston Martin DB5) sold for $3.5 million at auction. These iconic vehicles from the James Bond movies are beloved by fans worldwide. In 2019, a fully restored Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger was sold for an incredible $6.4 million. This particular car had all the famous Bond gadgets, like tire-slashers and machine guns, making it a true movie legend.
The DB5 was one of just three cars that had been modified for the Bond films, and it was valued between $4 million and $6 million. In 2010, another Bond-modified DB5 from Goldfinger and Thunderball sold for $4.6 million. After a full restoration, the car was ready to impress the lucky new owner, who now had access to a passenger-seat ejection system, rotating license plates, and a smoke screen dispenser—just like the one used by James Bond.
