Identity of 'Wet Nellie' Lotus auction winner uncovered

17-Oct-2013 • Collecting

The identity of the anonymous bidder who bought the famous Lotus 'Wet Nellie' car from the 1977 film "The Spy Who Loved Me" at auction last month has been uncovered.

Jalopink has learned that Elon Musk, billionaire investor and the CEO of electric car company Tesla, was the highest bidder.

The vehicle was offered for sale for the first time by RM Auctions in London and is the one and only fully functioning car especially designed and built for the famous underwater sequence seen on screen in the 1977 film. Abundantly authenticated, and known as âWet Nellieâ on the set, it was developed from one of six Esprit body shells used in the making of the film. As the only car to be built into a fully operational, self-propelled âsubmarineâ, by Perry Oceanographic, based in Riviera Beach, Florida, it is the vehicle which claimed the most screen time in the film.

Bidding kicked off at Â£100,000 with increments of Â£50,000 until the bids stalled at Â£450,000. After squeaking out another couple of bids, and trying to coax potential buyers with a smaller increment of Â£25,000, the hammer came down at a slightly disappointing Â£550,000. The auctioneers had expected it to fetch between Â£650,000 - Â£950,000.