Since the Toyota Roadster of 1967’s You Only Live Twice, the next ten years had seen a surprising lack of feature-packed Bond cars, George Lazenby making just a brief foray with an Aston Martin DBS in On Her Majesty's Secret Service which was followed by some spirited two wheeled driving in a rented Ford Mustang during Connery’s swansong in Diamonds Are Forever. For 1977’s epic release though, Bond would be getting his hands on undoubtedly the most spectacular machine yet to emerge from Q Branch. It was decided that Lotus’s new Esprit would be the most appropriate set of wheels for 007 and just like Connery was inextricably linked to his Aston Martin DB5, Roger Moore and the Esprit would become an era defining partnership. A pair of complete Series 1 Esprit’s were loaned to producer Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, one of these being used as a camera car. Additionally there were a number of waterproofed examples built in various configurations for the scenes where the Lotus would be required to operate under the sea. Indeed, the Esprit used in The Spy Who Loved Me was unique in the Bond series as it could be used both on land and underwater. Three types of vehicles were built for the aquatic scenes, a waterproofed Esprit able to drive into and out of the water, one that could transform from car to submarine and another that was essentially a wet submarine with an Esprit body.

The occupants then had to let it settle on the sea floor before it could be lifted back up to the surface by a team of three divers. As usual, the Esprit was packed with gadgets including cement dispensers that emerged from the rear number plate housing and surface-to-air missiles. On screen, the transformation to submarine seemed straightforward, the retractable wheels folding away beneath extendable covers whilst various fins, rudders and propeller units sprouted as if from nowhere. There were also distinctive black reinforcing bars to protect the glass from caving in under pressure. Once submerged, the pilot could deploy depth charges, torpedoes and harpoons whilst a smoke screen, periscope and self-destruct system could also be utilised when necessary. The convertible dashboard doubled as a submarine control system with radar and nautical guidance equipment. In the film, this very special Esprit was delivered personally by Q (Desmond Llewelyn) to Bond and Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) in Sardinia. On heading out for a spirited test drive, it wasn’t long before Bond and Amasova were being tailed by one of Stromberg’s henchman on a motorbike complete with explosive-packed detachable sidecar. Having successfully evaded the anonymous motorcyclist, Bond was then confronted by a car full of Stromberg’s henchmen including Jaws (Richard Kiel). This unsavoury bunch were dispatched thanks to the Esprit’s cement sprayer only for 007 to be chased down by a helicopter gunship piloted by Stromberg’s assistant, Naomi (Caroline Munro).

After the underwater action, the Esprit's submarine gadgetry folded away and the Lotus drove up out of the sea onto a beach packed with startled onlookers. Produced on a budget of $14m, The Spy Who Loved Me had its premiere on July 7th 1977 and went on to gross $185.4m at the worldwide box office. As for what is believed to be the sole remaining operational Esprit used in the film, chassis 76070122G was retained by Lotus until being sold for £32,935 with a 19,404 miles on the clock by Coys at Silverstone in July 1998. The various submarines from the film rarely led such a sheltered life though, two remaining in the Bahamas where most of the underwater scenes were originally filmed. They were gifted by Broccoli to Roberts Used Car Lot & Scrap Metal Company as momentos from the film, Mr Roberts having supplied the cranes used to raise and lower all the film's equipment into and out of the ocean each day. The more complete of the two subs was re-painted red, positioned outside Roberts’ premises and decorated with multi-coloured Christmas lights. Eventually being entombed with weeds and bugs, it remained in this sorry state until being rescued along with the other original example (which had been unceremoniously dumped atop a milk float) for a mere $2000 in 1988.