Lotus Esprit 'Wet Nellie' From The Spy Who Loved Me A

The Lotus Esprit and the Bond car that made a splash!

29 September 2026

Fifty years ago, in October 1976 , filming took place for the underwater sequences for the James Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me. Arguably the biggest stars of the film was the Lotus Esprit, which plunges into the sea and converts into a submarine! Although this feature was very definitely an optional extra and didn’t come as standard, the Lotus Esprit was the latest fashionable sportscar having entered production in June 1976.

Project M70: Birth of the Lotus Esprit

In 1971, Lotus founder Colin Chapman had a meeting with renowned Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, and a memorable collaboration began. Lotus were looking for a two-seater mid-engined replacement for the Europa and Giugiaro set to work.

In 1972, the striking angular “silver car” prototype was unveiled at the 1972 Turin Motor Show, to wide acclaim. Chapman gave the green light to Project M70 and three-years late, at the Paris Motor Show saw the debut of the Lotus Esprit. One source states that Giugiaro wanted to call the car “Kiwi” but the Lotus tradition of naming their cars starting with “E” prevailed.

The Esprit had a fibreglass body on a steel chassis and was powered by a Lotus 907 aluminium 2-litre, 16-valve, 4-cylinder engine. A Citroen 5-speed gearbox was deployed, along with independent rear suspension. Lotus claimed performance stats of 0-60mph in 6.8 seconds, 160bhp and a top speed of 138mph. Behind the glamour of the eye-catching design, the Esprit made use of Fiat taillights and wheels. (Later versions had Morris Marina door handles!)

The new Lotus Esprit The Esprit was launched in October 1975 at the Paris Motor Show and was first available to purchase in the UK in June 1976. The retail price was £7,979. The motoring press praised the car’s looks, performance and steering, they were more critical of noise, vibration and rear-visibility. Initial sales were not spectacular but then came the Bond factor…

In 1977, the eagerly anticipated latest Bond film “The Spy Who Loved Me” was released and arguably its biggest star was the Lotus Esprit. Lotus supplied two road cars for the production, along with seven shells used for the famous submarine sequence. In the film, there is a car chase in which Bond sprays cement from the rear of the car to deter the baddies. Then, of course, when the Esprit goes into the sea, it converts to a submarine, complete with periscope, mine launcher, rear-mounted ink jets, front-mounted torpedoes and a sea to air missile launcher (neatly despatching the baddies’ helicopter). The submarine Esprit was named “Wet Nellie” by the production crew, who, with the help of Perry Oceanographic in Florida, made the fibreglass shell into an electrically-powered wet-sub, crewed by two frogmen.

Interestingly, Wet Nellie ended up being bought at auction in 2013 for £550,000 by none other than Elon Musk, who declared ambitious plans to make it a truly amphibious car powered by Tesla electric motors. Strangely enough, nothing has been heard on this subject since.

Official Lotus records state that 718 original model (S1) Esprits were made, and they are now rarely seen on the road. The Esprit was the longest running of all of Lotus’ production cars and has an enduring appeal with enthusiasts and instant recognition from cinema-goers across the world.