James Bond fever at Bonhams auction house

007 film memorabilia is being auctioned. Will the lure of James Bond buck the economic trend, asks The Telegraph.

Several items of James Bond film memorabilia, including the 'swimming' Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me, pepper the Bonhams sale of collectors' cars, motorcycles and related ephemera at London's Olympia on Monday (December 1).

The 1976 Esprit is one of two fully-functional cars used for driving scenes in the film, which starred Roger Moore as agent 007. It was recently restored and according to the director of engineering at Lotus Cars, Roger Becker, who drove it during the car chases in the The Spy Who Loved Me, this is the only one of the two fully functioning Esprits to be fitted with the missile launch button on the gear lever and the revised housing for the clock/periscope screen.

It is the car in which Q instructs Bond about its various functions. After filming, it went back to Lotus to be returned to standard specification and trim, and eventually found its way to Germany. The current owner commissioned the original trimmer Nick Fulcher to return the Esprit to its Bond appearance. A photographic record of Fulcher's painstaking restoration of the interior is included.

The price? Bonhams says "refer to department", which means it won't be cheap. Even in times of financial crisis, it seems you can always bank on Bond.

Talking of banking and bullion, another Bond-related item is the number plate AU1, the registration borne by arch-villain Auric Goldfinger's Rolls-Royce Phantom III in the Sean Connery-era Bond outing, Goldfinger.

AU1 was issued in Nottingham in 1903 and remained in the original holder's family until the mid-1990s. Offered with a V778 retention certificate, the registration is estimated at £80,000 to £100,000.

A rather more glam lot is the ex-Marc Bolan, 1970 Ferrari 365GTB/4 'Daytona' coupe. This car, one of only 350 Series 1 Daytonas built, was ordered from Maranello Concessionaires by Rob Walker in November 1968 and starred at the 1970 Earl's Court Motor Show.

It has had a plethora of owners, as proven by the comprehensive history file accompanying the car. Bolan is believed to have bought the Daytona in 1971 and used it until 1973. It went to Japan in 1975, returning to the UK in 1989, since when it has had another four owners.

The estimate is £170,000 to £200,000.

A couple of journeys carrying Diana, Princess of Wales confers celebrity status on a 1976 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. The former property of Lord Viscount Leverhulme, it was made available to any members of the royal family visiting the north-west of England. Leverhulme's chauffeur of 30 years has confirmed that most members of the royal family have travelled in the car at some time, except the Queen. It is estimated at £10,000 to £12,000.

The sale takes place on Monday, December 1 at Olympia 2 on Hammersmith Road, London. The Automobilia auction starts at 11am, with the motorcycle sale at 3pm and cars at 3.30pm.

For more details, go to http://www.bonhams.com/cars

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