Tenders & Toys 2024

MOVIE HEROES
WET NELLIE - THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
Wet Nellie is the behind-the-scenes name given to a custombuilt
submarine, created for the 1977 James Bond film The
Spy Who Loved Me in the shape of a Lotus Esprit S1 sports
car. The Esprit was chosen to give James Bond a glamorous car to
drive. ‘Wet Nellie’ is named in reference to Little Nellie, an autogyro
featured in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, which was itself
named after actress and comedian Nellie Wallace.
It was built by Perry Oceanographic, Inc., of Riviera Beach, Florida,
United States, specifically for the film, using a Lotus Esprit S1 bodyshell,
for about $100,000 at the time. In filming, six Esprits were used
(registration PPW 306R), though only one submarine. Three of the
Esprits were just empty bodyshells which were used to show each
phase of the car-to-submarine transformation. When an additional road
car was needed for the chase sequences the producers borrowed
Lotus chairman Colin Chapman’s personal vehicle. Upon completion
of filming, the submarine went on a promotional tour. Afterwards, it was
shipped to Long Island, New York, and placed in storage. The storage
unit was prepaid for 10 years; at the end of the lease, no one claimed
the contents, so the contents of the storage locker were placed on
auction. The lucky buyer paid less than $100 for the unit. The buyers
did not know the contents when they bought it, and from 1989 to 2013
occasionally exhibited the submarine. The then owner, also owner of a
tool rental shop, had the exterior restored. It was put up for auction as
a Bond car in 2013. In September 2013, the submarine sold at auction
for £550,000 at RM Auctions in Battersea, south west London. Elon
Musk bought the vehicle, and as of 2013, planned to convert it into the
functional car-submarine from the film. Musk stated that he plans to
use Tesla Motors’ electric drive train in making his conversion a reality,
not sure if that ever happened.....
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