Man paid less than $150 for mystery container which turned out to have $1 million James Bond car inside
- A man bought a mystery container and found a $1M James Bond car inside
- The car was the famous submarine Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me
- Elon Musk bought the car for $997,000 in 2013
Published on Jan 01, 2025 at 12:00 AM (UTC+4)
by Daksh Chaudhary
Last updated on Jan 03, 2025 at 3:28 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
James Bond cars have a special place in the hearts of car fanatics, and it’s easy to see why.
For owners, it’s a bit like a rare relic that can sell for an unbelievable price in the market.
That’s exactly what happened to a Long Island contractor over 30 years ago when he bought a mystery storage container containing a long-forgotten ‘James Bond’ Lotus Esprit.
Surprisingly, even though the container held a car worth $1 million, it was bought for less than $150.
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Mystery container with James Bond Lotus Esprit car inside
Our story starts in 1989 when a man and his brother opened a container and found a white sports car tucked away under blankets.
Initially, the pair were unaware of the treasure that they’d accidentally stumbled across.
As it turned out, they’d discovered the famous submarine car from The Spy Who Loved Me.
The car was used by Roger Moore during an exciting mountaintop chase, before then transforming into a submarine and diving into the ocean.
If you have seen the film, you’ll know the iconic scene we are on about.
Luckily, the duo – impressed by the car’s weird design – took it to an expert to learn further about it.
That’s when they realized it was ‘Wet Nellie’ – the submarine car that cost over $100,000 to build in the 1970s.
Over time, this rare James Bond car has increased in value and could be worth somewhere around $1 million.
In total, eight Lotus Esprits were involved in making the movie, with some used for chase scenes and others for underwater shots.
The car was sold at a London Auction
In 2013, 24 years after the car was found, it was sold at a London auction.
Guess who bought it?
None other than Elon Musk.
He paid $997,000 and bought the car secretly, before later revealing his plans to upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain to make it really transform into a submarine.
It’s nothing new for James Bond cars to sell at a huge price at auctions.
The Aston Martin DB5 stunt car from Goldfinger was auctioned for $3.5 million.
Given how much people love the James Bond films, it’s not hard to see why there’s a market for these iconic pieces.
