Top 40 James Bond Vehicles Of All Time

#3-1976 Lotus Espirit

Appeared in: The Spy Who Loved Me

Q-branch really outdid themselves with this 1976 Lotus Espirit aptly dubbed “Wet Nellie.” Although its sporting credentials didn’t lend itself as one particularly fast car (140 HP from an inline four cylinder) we imagine that Q significantly massaged the engine or swapped in something more powerful. What the Lotus lacked in power, it made up for in gadgets which included a periscope, torpedoes, surface to air missiles, depth charges, a smoke screen and the ability to transform into a submarine that forever cemented this Espirit as the next best Bond car after the Aston Martin DB5.

When this Lotus is being unloaded off the coast of Sardinia, flanked by one Anya Amasova, Bond takes a look at the Lotus then glances back at Anya as she gives a wry smile in clear approval of Bond’s tastes. And what follows shortly after was one of the best Bond chases of all time with Bond diving into the ocean, negotiating the depths below and resurfacing on the other shore to the surprise of beach-goers camped on the sand.

The story of how Lotus was chosen by EON Productions as the next Bond car was a legendary story in and of itself. Don McLaughlan, head of PR for Lotus at the time, upon hearing that EON productions was shopping around for another Bond car, covered all the logos on a Lotus Prototype and drove it and parked the prototype in front of Pinewood studios.  The car soon got the attention of EON and a call to Lotus was made to bring two cars in as prototypes and the rest is history.

Fun Fact: Elon Musk of Tesla was such a fan of this particular Lotus, he hid an Easter Egg in the software of every Tesla Model S that adds an option to turn your Tesla into a submersible vehicle under the suspension settings. In reality, it’s just a screen option and nothing more.

Next: Aston Martin DB10