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James Bond Lotus Esprit submarine car headed to auction [w/video]

We've covered many cars from the movies and TV that have made their way to auction (the original Batmobile, good old General Lee and even Bond's iconic Aston Martin DB5), but this one ranks up there among the rarest and coolest. RM Auctions has just announced that the Lotus Esprit submarine car used in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me has been added to the docket for its upcoming auction in London, September 8-9.
Of course, there are dozens of Bond cars floating around out there in collections, but none as unique as this Lotus, which ended a chase scene in the movie by taking a long walk off a short pier and transforming itself into a submersible. Since CGI was a meaningless collection of letters back then, the producers of the film actually built a fully functional Lotus Esprit submarine for the shoot. They hired Perry Oceangraphic in Florida to turn one of their six Esprit body shells into a fully functioning submarine, and former US Navy Seal Don Griffin was tapped for piloting duties. RM Auctions claims the Esprit submarine cost over $100,000 to build at the time, which is about $400,000 in today's dollars.
The submarine car comes with a incredible story, too. After filming in the '70s, it was shipped to Long Island, NY where it was kept in a storage unit that was paid in advance for ten years. When the storage contract ended in 1989 and no one claimed the contents, they were sold off in a blind auction to an area couple who had no idea what they were getting. The car has been shown occasionally in the years since, but its value remained purely speculative, until now. To date, the most valuable Bond car we know of is the original Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger and Thunderball that sold for $4.6 million in 2010, but when the gavel falls at RM Auctions' London sale in September, we'll find out if the car nicknamed "Wet Nellie" on set can beat it.

Lotus Type 132 gets another teaser in before debut

Lotus has teased the Type 132 for what could be the final time before the battery-electric crossover debuts next Tuesday, March 29. Swinging for the fences with a special guest star that would help forestall the inevitable discord about Lotus making what will be a weighty crossover, Lotus enlisted Clive Chapman, son of company founder and legend Colin. Clive mentions Colin keeping a practical family car in addition to some variety of orthodox Lotus sports car, and says he thinks his father would have loved the chance to design something like the Type 132. Perhaps it's true. Yet, although Clive mentions practicality and towing and farming and a popular explosion of four-wheel-drive vehicles in the 1970s, Colin is never shown with one in the video. The best Colin does for practical is a Lotus Eclat, which everyone, even today, would likely accept as Lotus' version of a family car.  The video does offer one unquestionably honest bit, which is a silhouette of the Type 132. It's going to be sharp and racy, no doubt about that, and we like the look of it. Separate to the video, additional honest views of the Type 132 have been uncovered in another set of patent images. The Australian patent office let slip renderings of the CUV's exterior early this month, Spanish outlet Cochespias landed on images of the interior placed with a different patent office. They show some expected EV features like a flat floor and a two-level center tunnel with a floating console up top. They show us some expected luxury features like shapely and powered front sport seats, powered rear seats, and a full-width climate control vent design in front. They show some unexpected inclusions like a what appears to be a giant glove box door, and rear seat surfaces that could be a toss-up for comfort — but of the shut lines are accurate, those seats fold down in ways to make the most of the load bay. There's a large infotainment screen that allegedly lies flat on the instrument panel when not in use. And note what might be two cupholders on the center console, one of which might be tiny.  The slim extensions on the exterior views from earlier this month weren't just conceptual. The door panel in the interior renderings shows a blank square ahead of a speaker that should be a screen displaying the feed from the side camera. If anything, the only thing the drawings leave out is how long the vehicle appears to be, based on spy shots of the Type 132 testing in China last month.

Turns out the 2020 Lotus Evora GT is one of the best sounding cars on sale

Toyota has built plenty of engines that sound the business. We know the company has it in them, but what comes out isn’t always enthusiast-focused. Yet, hereÂ’s a fairly normal Toyota 3.5-liter V6, sitting in the middle of a Lotus. YouÂ’ll find it under the hood of a Toyota Camry, but here it is sitting under the engine cover of this 2020 Lotus Evora GT. Of course, Lotus hasnÂ’t dropped the engine in there without Lotus-fying it. This one has an Edelbrock supercharger with an integrated water-to-air charge cooler, plus a special calibration and tune from Lotus. In the Toyota, the base engine makes 301 horsepower. This Evora GT is putting out 416 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque. It also breathes through a set of pipes that the Brits would call ace. Check out the video at the top to get a taste of what we heard for a week straight. Our Evora GT was equipped with the standard exhaust. ThereÂ’s an optional titanium exhaust that drops 22 pounds from the curb weight, but Lotus says that it doesnÂ’t actually sound all that different. What does make a difference in the sound is changing the drive mode. ThereÂ’s a valve that opens in the exhaust when you select Sport mode or press the exhaust button. This drastically changes the sound heard from the cabin. In normal Drive mode, the exhaust is muted and just hanging out in the background. ItÂ’s shockingly quiet, but perfect for highway cruising because the drone goes away. Sport mode completely changes the tone and unlocks a sweet wail we didnÂ’t know the Toyota V6 had within it. ThereÂ’s no computer-enhanced or synthesized noises to be heard here. ItÂ’s all real. Taking it one step further in Race mode unlocks the tiniest bit more noise, Lotus says, but itÂ’s hardly noticeable in practice. We found the best experience was in Sport mode, since that reigns in traction control, retains stability control, and boosts throttle response by a bit. 2020 Lotus Evora GT View 6 Photos Under tunnels and overpasses — and this does feel weird to say, knowing the engineÂ’s origins — thereÂ’s a hint of Formula one car sound in there. WeÂ’re talking F1 from a few years ago, not the boring turbo engines of today. The way it shrieks and screams off walls, completely immersing you in the echoing sound, is intoxicating. Very few cars can match the Evora in sound quality, and thatÂ’s impressive considering some of the noisemakers car companies put out these days.