James Bond’s Lotus from The Spy Who Loved Me fetches £111,500 at London auction
With the 007 movie Quantum of Solace bringing James Bond back into the public eye, Bonhams today (1 December 2008) sold the 1976 Lotus Esprit, driven by Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me, for £111,500.
The classic white sports car, which attracted worldwide attention at Bonhams’ annual motoring sale in Olympia, West London, was bought by a private US collector, who was bidding on the telephone against a number of people in the saleroom. Commenting after the sale, the car’s new owner, who described himself as both a Lotus and James Bond aficionado, said that the car would be going to Atlanta, Georgia in the USA.
The vehicle was one of two Lotus cars driven in the 1977 film by Roger Moore’s James Bond character. In the movie it turned into an amphibious car, driven both on land and underwater.
For further sale information, please go to www.bonhams.com/cars
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America and in August 2003, Goodmans, a leading Australian fine art and antiques auctioneer with salerooms in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, joined the Bonhams Group of Companies. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further seven throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston in the USA; and Australia, Canada, Dubai, France, Hong Kong, Monaco and Switzerland . Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com
