www.QV500.com - James Bond 007 Part 4: Lotus Esprit Turbo
 
For Your Eyes Only was the 12th James Bond release and the fifth to feature Roger Moore as 007. Significantly it saw John Glen directing in place of Lewis Gilbert and this change brought about a refreshingly serious shift from 007's rather comical outings in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. Released to critical acclaim in 1981, Bond was assigned to recover the ATAC missile launching system lost in the Ionian Sea after the British spy ship St. George was sunk by an old mine caught up in its fishing nets. The plot thickens after the assasination of marine archeologist Sir Timothy Havelock (Jack Hedley) enlisted by the British to locate the ATAC system.
   
Bond is brought in to ensure that it does not fall into the hands of the Russians who would otherwise be able to co-ordinate the Royal Navy's fleet of Polaris submarines into attacking western targets. After the popularity of the submersible Esprit used in 1977's 'The Spy Who Loved Me', Lotus were once again selected as manufacturer of choice for 007. This time Q-Branch would supply Bond with the latest generation Esprit Turbo launched in February 1980. Series production was underway by May, the Esprit Turbo using an enlarged 2.2-litre engine with Garrett T3 turbocharger and downstream twin Dellorto carbs. It featured a completely new backbone chassis incorporating a wider front box section and suspension mounting points. The engine and transmission spaceframe was also new, these heavily revised Turbo Esprit's coming with bespoilered bodywork to set them apart from normally aspirated variants. Lotus supplied a pair of Esprit Turbo's that would co-star with 007 in the filming of For Your Eyes Only, one of which was the original prototype that had been retained by Colin Chapman.
 
Both examples were originally painted white with red stripes and matching decals, but when the production moved to the Italian ski resort of Cortina, the crew discovered a darker shade would stand out better against the snowy backdrop. Consequently, one of the cars was sent back to Hethel where it was repainted bronze with golden stripes and decals. At the same time it was also fitted with a pair of custom ski racks that were positioned over the engine cover. Meanwhile, whereas the Esprit used in The Spy Who Loved Me had been brimming with faintly ridiculous features, these turbocharged versions took on a less ambitious role.
   
As a result they were tricked out by Q-Branch with a more realistic specification that centred around a self-destruct system should the car be broken into. This consisted of four C4 explosive packs (strategically hidden in both sides of the car, front and back), magnetic seals on all doors and boot plus a set of vibration sensors. It didn't take long before the first of 007's Esprit Turbo's got the chance to activate its self destruct system, the white example making an early appearance when 007 travelled to Madrid to spy on Hector Gonzalez (Stefan Kalipha), the man responsible for Timothy Havelock's assasination. After being captured, Bond was saved by Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) who shot Gonzalez in the back with a crossbow to avenge the death of her father. The pair fled the estate only to find one of Gonzalez' henchman about to smash the Esprit's side window to gain access. Needless to say, the unfortunate mercenary was blown sky high along with the car. As a result, 007 and Melina were forced to escape with her rather less appropriate Citroen 2CV in one of the great celluloid pursuits. Q-Branch were supposedly able to rebuild the heavily damaged Esprit and, now repainted bronze, it was handed over to 007 at the MI6 headquarters in London prior to Bond's trip out to Cortina in Italy.
 
 

Subsequently used in a more genteel fashion, the Esprit appeared in several scenes, the most notable having been when 007 opened the passenger door to find his Italian colleague Ferrara (John Moreno) slumped dead with a cut throat. Produced on a budget of $28m, For Your Eyes Only premiered on June 24th 1981 and went on to gross $195m at the worldwide box office. Just as importantly, it eschewed the gimmickry of recent 007 movies, returning to the tough, edgy form that worked so well in earlier Sean Connery films. After production had ended, both the white and bronze Esprit Turbo's went on promotional duty before returning to Hethel. What has since become of the white car is something of a mystery whereas the bronze example was sold by Coys at Silverstone direct from Lotus in July 1998. Having covered a mere 19,070 miles, it was sold for £25,878 and put on display at the Cars of the Stars museum in Keswick, Cumbria. Later appearing at Planet Hollywood in London, it was then resold by Julien's Auctions on eBay for an incredible $210,000.
 
Chassis History
SCCFC20A8AMD10858
White movie car
Original Esprit Turbo prototype
Engine number: CC912801118912
UK registered: OPW 654W
SCCFC20A1AHD10930 Bronze movie car
Engine number: CD91080078603
UK registered: OPW 678W
1998 sold by Coys at Silverstone for £24,500 to Cars of the Stars museum, Keswick, Cumbria.
2006 sold by Julien's for $210,000.