DIY Lotus Esprit Submarine Paper Model

The Lotus Esprit submarine aka Wet Nellie from 1977 James Bond Film "The Spy Who Loved Me". This Esprit featured fins, front-mounted machine gun, a periscope and a surface to air missile. Wet Nellie is a custom-built submarine, created in the shape of a Lotus Esprit S1 sports car. The Esprit was chosen to give James Bond a glamorous car to drive. "Wet Nellie" is named in reference to Little Nellie, an autogyro featured in the James Bond film You Only Live Twice, which was itself named after actress and comedian Nellie Wallace. The submarine does not maintain a dry interior, and thus is a "wet sub" that requires occupants to don scuba gear. It was built by Perry Oceanographic, Inc., of Riviera Beach, Florida, United States, specifically for the film, using a Lotus Esprit S1 bodyshell, for about $100,000 at the time. The wedge shape of the Esprit is designed to provide downforce, so would force the submarine to dive, so was compensated for by fins placed where the wheels would be in a conventional Esprit. The sub requires a crew of two to operate. It has four electric motors that allowed forward motion only. Upon completion of filming, the submarine went on a promotional tour. Afterwards, it was shipped to Long Island, New York, and placed in storage. The storage unit was prepaid for 10 years; at the end of the lease, no one claimed the contents, so the contents of the storage locker were placed on auction. The buyer paid less than $100 for the unit. The buyers did not know the contents when they bought it, and from 1989 to 2013 occasionally exhibited the submarine. The then owner, also owner of a tool rental shop, had the exterior restored. It was put up for auction as a Bond Car in 2013. In September 2013, the submarine sold at auction at RM Auctions in Battersea, south west London. Elon Musk bought the vehicle, and as of 2013, planned to convert it into the functional car-submarine from the film. Musk stated that he plans to use Tesla Motors' electric drive train in making his conversion a reality.

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