The tale of Wet Nellie the underwater Bond car

Anyone recall seeing those television programs, usually from the USA, where people bid on the  abandoned contents of storage units and take pot luck at what they might be buying? Imagine doing that and upon unwrapping an oddly-shaped object discovering the long-lost star of a James Bond film.

Yes, back in 1989 that really did happen and it wasn't a prank. Nor was the object a reclusive Sean Connery looking for somewhere peaceful to hide. The item that had been hidden from view for a decade was a Lotus Esprit Turbo coupe - well the body of one anyway - that had been converted into one of the 007 film franchise's most famous automotive props.

Enthusiasts might recall an early Bond epic that was set in Japan and entitled You Only Live Twice. It featured a very feisty gyrocopter, equipped with heat-seeking missiles and named 'Little Nellie' in honour of British music hall and movie star Eleanor 'Nellie' Wallace.

Ten years later, when an allegedly waterproof and heavily-armed Lotus emerged from the clandestine workshop of MI6 gadget-man 'Q', it continued the tradition and was nicknamed 'Wet Nellie'. All was not as it seemed however.

When Roger Moore in the guise of James Bond sent his Esprit plunging off a jetty to avoid a pursuing helicopter, not only the fish it encountered below the waves were surprised.

People who owned road-going Esprits and reportedly had trouble keeping water out of the cabin during a normal British downpour would not have contemplated several minutes of immersion in the briny. But this was no normal Lotus Esprit.

Nor, despite immense amounts of money being spent, was she waterproof either and the crew of two who controlled Nellie as she nosed her way across a contrived seascape certainly would have drowned without breathing apparatus.

The Nellie discovered in 1989 was one of eight complete cars and body-shells supplied to the producers of 1977 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me.

Nellie was constructed in the USA by underwater propulsion specialists Perry Oceanographic and at the time cost a reported US$100,000. One car was fitted with the full complement of propulsion and navigational hardware while two other shells were used for close-ups of the wheel-covers and fins deploying.

Shots featuring Roger Moore and Bond girl Barbara Bach drifting with orchestral accompaniment between rocky outcrops and along the ocean floor used a studio mock-up Nellie with a complete Lotus interior. The actual exteriors of the car in submarine mode were shot in a large tank with its operators having plenty to occupy their time.

The car used four propulsion nozzles and was able to achieve decent speeds underwater. However its designers didn't provide any means of slowing the craft apart from shutting off the power and waiting for it to slow down. Nellie reportedly wasn't keen on changing direction either and the underwater crew  must have been very much knees and elbows as they encouraged her to perform the various twists and dives required of a Lotus intent on repelling determined attackers.

Not that Nellie was defenceless of course. She could unleash anti-aircraft missiles from underwater, fire machine guns and even leave an inky trail in the manner of an antagonised octopus to confuse pursuers.

Four years after Wet Nellie's immeasurable impression on filmgoers, Lotus were equally keen to supply transport for use by our hero in For Your Eyes Only.  This later-model Esprit Turbo came with hardly any gadgetry at all and didn't go anywhere near the ocean. Painted bronze to stand out against snowy backdrops this was the only Bond Lotus to be fitted with ski racks.

Nellie's existence once The Spy Who Loved Me ended its promotional phase went from glamorous to glum. It was also confusing with at least one of the mock-up cars surviving and its sale in 2016, online and with scant information prompted questions as to the authenticity of them all.

However, the car in the shed that had cost its new owner all of US$100 was easy to authenticate. It was also very recognisable to everyone who saw it, apart from the buyer.

Once removed from its decade-long hibernation, the fully-functioning Nellie was transported by its lucky buyer - who claimed to have never seen a 007 film - on a flatbed truck. Throughout the journey which involved freeway travel he was constantly hearing CB radio comments from passing truckers about 'that James Bond car coming down the highway'. He decided to have the car looked at by someone who could confirm its origins and contacted the Ian Fleming Foundation.

Doug Redenius, who was given the task of authenticating the car, was interviewed by US Television network CBNC in 2013 and revealed that the original buyer was amazed when told what he had uncovered.

"It is one of the most famous Bond cars ever and he had no idea how valuable the discovery was."

For more than 20 years the car was displayed at special events and in museums throughout the USA before being consigned for sale at R M Auctions' London sale in September 2013.

No Bond car of this significance had been sold since the Goldfinger Aston-Martin and it attracted immense interest. However the biggest headline was yet to come when the winning bidder who paid almost US$1 million was revealed as electric vehicle guru Elon Musk.

Musk said he intended to return the car to duty and turn it into a fully-functioning submersible that could also be driven on the road. To date nothing much has happened, however Musk apparently hasn't forgotten about the car and the intention remains strong.

In Musk's own words and following news leaking (sorry) that he was Wet Nellie' s new owner;

"I was disappointed to learn that it can't actually transform. What I'm going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real."

With enough resources to embark on a space program there was every confidence that Musk's organisation would quickly make his undertaking happen. However, in a more recent interview he described the project as 'a low priority'.

Perhaps that change of heart occurred after Mr Musk became aware - having unsuccessfully sued the BBC's Top Gear program - that it had, in 2012, beaten him to his quest. Well, sort of.

To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the first James Bond film, Top Gear decided to duplicate Wet Nellie. Or go as close as they could on a budget nowhere near the car's original cost.

Top Gear found a Lotus Excel - much cheaper and more disposable in the 21st Century market than a Turbo Esprit - as its 'donor' car. Using a lot of sealant, ingenuity and fibreglass sheeting, the program's engineering team turned the Excel into a working and almost watertight underwater car.

It was shown actually being driven towards its underwater adventure, so one-up on the actual Nellie already.  From outside the only obvious alterations were two massive water-jet propulsion nozzles and dive-planes at the rear. Climbing aboard was tricky, with fibreglass sheet blocking off the door apertures.

With the retractable dive-planes and tyres filled with concrete (seriously), the Lotus crewed by Top Gear's Richard Hammond sank effortlessly beneath the waters of some nondescript British lake. The wheels didn't retract but Hammond didn't experience any obvious navigational problems either as the Excel wandered below the surface for several minutes. A few minor leaks manifested during the test, but in the words of Hammond: "It actually works". Over to you, Mr Musk.

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