Wet Nellie Explained

-- full code --> Ship Image: TSWLM-LotusEsprit side.jpg Ship Image Size: 240px Ship Caption: Wet Nellie Ship Name: Wet Nellie Ship Namesake: Little Nellie Ship Owner: Elon Musk (since 2013) Ship Ordered: 1976 Ship Builder: Perry Oceanographic, Inc.^[1] Ship Original Cost: $100,000 Ship Laid Down: 1976 Ship Launched: 1976 Ship Sponsor: Eon Productions Ship Completed: 1976 Ship Acquired: 2013 Ship Commissioned: 1976 Ship Maiden Voyage: 1976 Ship In Service: 1976 Ship Class: Customized Lotus Esprit Ship Type: Wet sub Ship Capacity: 2 Ship Crew: 2 Ship Length: 14feet Ship Beam: 6feet Ship Height: 4feet Ship Propulsion: 4 electric motors

"Wet Nellie"^[2] is the behind-the-scenes name given to a custom-built submarine, created for the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me in the shape of a Lotus Esprit S1 sports car.^[3] 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,^[4] which was itself named after actress and comedian Nellie Wallace.^[5]

Construction

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,^[6] 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, which would cause the submarine to dive. This undesirable force 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.^[3] The interior bears no resemblance to that of a car, being just a platform for the scuba divers, and the equipment used to operate, drive, and power the sub.^[4]

Filming

During filming of The Spy Who Loved Me, the submarine was piloted by ex-U.S. Navy SEAL Don Griffin. The fictional history of the car in the film was that it was developed by Q-Branch of MI6, and its blueprints were stolen by KGB agent Anya Amasova (after Bond asked Amasova "How did you know about that?" Amasova replied, "I stole the blueprints of this car two years ago"). In filming, six Esprits were used (registration "PPW 306R"), though only one submarine.^[3] Three of the Esprits were just empty bodyshells which were used to show each phase of the car-to-submarine transformation. Two unpowered dummy cars fitted with wheels were used to show the Esprit entering and emerging from the sea; the first was designed to be fired from an air cannon off the end of the pier, the second was towed by a rope buried under the beach with a sweeping brush fitted to the underside to cover the rope up as the car was tugged out. When an additional road car was needed for the chase sequences the producers borrowed Lotus chairman Colin Chapman's personal vehicle.

Post-film life

Upon completion of filming, the submarine went on a promotional tour.^[4] 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.^[4] 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.^[4] It was put up for auction as a Bond car in 2013.^[7] In September 2013, the submarine sold at auction for £550,000,^[8] at RM Auctions in Battersea, south west London.^[9] Elon Musk bought the vehicle, and, planned to convert it into the functional car-submarine from the film.^[10] Musk stated that he plans to use Tesla Motors' electric drive train in making his conversion a reality.^[11]

See also

• List of James Bond vehicles

Further reading

• Web site: Lot 243: 007 Lotus Esprit 'Submarine Car'. RM Auctions. 9 September 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20150517011700/http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1061050. 2015-05-17. dead.
• Web site: The most memorable Bond vehicles: Lotus Esprit 'Wet Nellie'. MSN Cars. 22 October 2012 . 2013-11-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20131203052627/http://cars.uk.msn.com/features/the-most-memorable-bond-vehicles?page=8. 2013-12-03. dead.

Notes and References

1. Web site: History Overview of Perry Baromedical. Perry Baromedical . https://web.archive.org/web/20100424010846/http://www.perrybaromedical.com/company-history.html. 2010-04-24. dead.
2. News: James Bond's 'Spy Who Loved me' submarine car sold in London. Reuters. 9 September 2013. 2013-11-13.
3. Web site: Oagana. Alex . Wet Nellie: The Second Most Famous Bond Car. Autoevolution . 9 May 2011. 2013-11-13.
4. News: Wilkinson. Leo . Inside James Bond's Lotus supersub . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/10233869/Inside-James-Bonds-Lotus-supersub.html . 12 January 2022 . subscription . live . The Daily Telegraph. 12 August 2013. 2013-11-13.
5. Mallion. Tony . The Name's Wallis, Ken Wallis. Places & Faces . May 2010. 2. 8–9. 2013-12-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20101106211101/http://www.placesandfaces.co.uk/articles/30/the-names-wallis-ken-wallis.html. 2010-11-06. dead.
6. News: Irvine. Chris . Billionaire Elon Musk admits he bought James Bond's submarine car. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/10390060/Billionaire-Elon-Musk-admits-he-bought-James-Bonds-submarine-car.html . 12 January 2022 . subscription . live . The Daily Telegraph. 18 October 2013. 2013-11-13.
7. Web site: Neff. John . James Bond Lotus Esprit submarine car headed to auction [w/video] ]. Autoblog. 28 June 2013 . 2013-11-13.
8. Web site: Bond submarine car 'Wet Nellie' goes for £550,000 at Battersea auction house . London24 . 10 September 2013. 2013-11-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20130911124553/http://www.london24.com/entertainment/around-the-web/bond_submarine_car_wet_nellie_goes_for_550_000_at_battersea_auction_house_1_2373879. 2013-09-11. dead.
9. Gergeni. Matt . James Bond's "Wet Nellie" Hits Nearly $1 Million at Auction. THM Magazine. 10 September 2013. 2013-11-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20131104044931/http://magazine.thmotorsports.com/news/24-news/4520-james-bonds-wet-nellie-hits-nearly-1-million-at-auction.html. 2013-11-04. dead.
10. News: Woodyard. Chris . Tesla's Elon Musk buys 007's sub to make it real. USA Today . 18 October 2013. 2013-11-13.
11. News: Eisenstein. Paul A. . Tesla's Elon Musk wants to make sub car a reality . CNBC. 18 October 2013. 2013-11-13.