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Wet Nellie

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Not to be confused with the bread puddingWet Nelly.

Wet Nellie
Wet Nellie
History
NameWet Nellie
NamesakeLittle Nellie
OwnerElon Musk(since 2013)
Ordered1976
BuilderPerry Oceanographic, Inc.[1]
Cost$100,000
Laid down1976
Launched1976
Sponsored byEon Productions
Completed1976
Acquired2013
Commissioned1976
Maiden voyage1976
In service1976
General characteristics
Class and typeCustomizedLotus Esprit
TypeWet sub
Length14 feet (4.3 m)
Beam6 feet (1.8 m)
Height4 feet (1.2 m)
Propulsion4 electric motors
Capacity2
Crew2

"Wet Nellie"[2]is the behind-the-scenes name given to a custom-builtsubmarine,created for the 1977James BondfilmThe Spy Who Loved Mein the shape of aLotus EspritS1 sports car.[3]The Esprit was chosen to give James Bond a glamorous car to drive. "Wet Nellie" is named in reference toLittle Nellie,anautogyrofeatured in theJames BondfilmYou Only Live Twice,[4]which was itself named after actress and comedianNellie Wallace.[5]

Construction[edit]

The submarine does not maintain a dry interior, and thus is a "wet sub"that requires occupants to don scuba gear.[6]It was built by Perry Oceanographic, Inc., ofRiviera Beach, Florida,United States,[7]specifically for the film, using a Lotus Esprit S1 bodyshell, for about $100,000 at the time.[8]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[edit]

During filming ofThe Spy Who Loved Me,the submarine was piloted by ex-U.S. Navy SEALDon Griffin.[8]The fictional history of the car in the film was that it was developed byQ-BranchofMI6,and its blueprints were stolen byKGBagentAnya 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.[citation needed]When an additional road car was needed for the chase sequences the producers borrowed Lotus chairmanColin Chapman's personal vehicle.[citation needed]

Post-film life[edit]

Upon completion of filming, the submarine went on a promotional tour.[4]Afterwards, it was shipped toLong 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][8]The buyers did not know the contents when they bought it, and from 1989 to 2013 occasionally exhibited the submarine.[8]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.[8]In September 2013, the submarine sold at auction for £550,000,[9]atRM AuctionsinBattersea,south west London.[6]Elon Muskbought the vehicle, and as of 2013,planned to convert it into the functional car-submarine from the film.[10]Musk stated that he plans to useTesla Motors' electric drive train in making his conversion a reality.[11]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"History Overview of Perry Baromedical".Perry Baromedical. Archived fromthe originalon 24 April 2010.
  2. ^"James Bond's 'Spy Who Loved me' submarine car sold in London".Reuters. 9 September 2013.Retrieved13 November2013.
  3. ^abcOagana, Alex (9 May 2011)."Wet Nellie: The Second Most Famous Bond Car".Autoevolution.Retrieved13 November2013.
  4. ^abcdeWilkinson, Leo (12 August 2013)."Inside James Bond's Lotus supersub".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2022.Retrieved13 November2013.
  5. ^Mallion, Tony (May 2010)."The Name's Wallis, Ken Wallis".Places & Faces.No. 2. pp. 8–9. Archived fromthe originalon 6 November 2010.Retrieved12 December2013.
  6. ^abGergeni, Matt (10 September 2013)."James Bond's" Wet Nellie "Hits Nearly $1 Million at Auction".THM Magazine.Archived fromthe originalon 4 November 2013.Retrieved13 November2013.
  7. ^Irvine, Chris (18 October 2013)."Billionaire Elon Musk admits he bought James Bond's submarine car".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2022.Retrieved13 November2013.
  8. ^abcdeNeff, John (28 June 2013)."James Bond Lotus Esprit submarine car headed to auction [w/video]".Autoblog.Retrieved13 November2013.
  9. ^"Bond submarine car 'Wet Nellie' goes for £550,000 at Battersea auction house".London24.10 September 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 11 September 2013.Retrieved13 November2013.
  10. ^Woodyard, Chris (18 October 2013)."Tesla's Elon Musk buys 007's sub to make it real".USA Today.Retrieved13 November2013.
  11. ^Eisenstein, Paul A. (18 October 2013)."Tesla's Elon Musk wants to make sub car a reality".CNBC.Retrieved13 November2013.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Media related toWet Nellieat Wikimedia Commons

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