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Scalextric C4229 James Bond Lotus Esprit S1 - The Spy Who Loved Me. RRP £53.99. Scheduled July 2022

The Spy Who Loved Me - released in 1977 - was Roger Moore's personal favourite of the seven Bond movies he appeared in as 007. The film had everything a Bond fan could wish for - it's suave and sophisticated, introduces two fabulous new baddies in Stromberg and his henchman 'Jaws', there's a beautiful KGB agent, stunning locations in Egypt and Italy, plus an iconic 1970s car in this unforgettable chase...



There's something refreshingly understated about the Giorgetto Giugiaro designed Series 1 Lotus Esprit, unveiled at the 1975 Paris Motor Show. It's a beautiful car - almost delicate - and without the 80s musculature that is perhaps more familiar when we think of an Esprit...

   

The Scalextric model is almost there. From the side, it looks great - perhaps a little bit too much rear tyre and the black window surround stops too soon at the front. We could also do with that vent at the top of the bonnet to stand out more - the front is a little feature-less in the photo. The Wolfrace-style alloy wheels are accurate, but the chrome is a little overpowering. It's certainly a pretty model - and a very good reproduction of the second-best Bond car - but maybe it could all be a fraction lower to the ground. The Scalextric Esprit has a standard short-can motor in sidewinder orientation and is Digital Plug Ready (DPR) for easy conversion for digital racing.

       

In the film, Q had adapted the Esprit road car to include some crucial gadgets to keep 007 alive and entertain the audience...

• Cement Jet Sprayer - Concealed behind the rear license plate are four nozzles, two of which spray cement in order to blind pursuers. The effect was achieved using gray oatmeal.
  
• Submersible Mode - The car's most notable feature - and the one for which it is best remembered - was it's ability to transform into a two-man submersible. The underwater car was portrayed by a combination of an empty Esprit body shell with two divers inside and scale miniatures.
  
• Surface-to-Air Missiles - While underwater, the Esprit could employ surface-to-air missiles to deal with enemy aircraft overhead. It is unknown if they were also usable while the vehicle was on land. Bond fired a SAM at the pilot of the chopper to "say goodbye to an uninvited guest."
  
• Black Dye Slick - Comparable to the cement jets it could use on land, the Esprit was capable of dispensing a think black dye to blind underwater pursuers similar to an octopus. 
  
• Mines - Another exclusively submarine weapon, contact mines could be released from a small port beneath the car.
  
• Torpedoes - The car could fire small, highly explosive torpedoes from a flip-up array located between the car's headlights.
  

Lotus delivered two street-legal vehicles to the production, one of which was converted to a camera car. There were also six bodyshells, which were used for various shots, including dummy cars for entering and exiting the sea. The submarine car - christened 'Wet Nellie' - was built by Perry Oceanographic in Florida, using another Esprit S1 bodyshell. Wet Nellie is currently owned by Elon Musk. Although it would require a fair bit of new tooling, I'd love to see Scalextric produce a model of Wet Nellie. Like the recent Aston Martin Vantage V8 with skis, the submarine would be rather wide for racing, but I'm sure it would be a hit with collectors! One more time...




The Scalextric James Bond Lotus Esprit S1 'The Spy Who Loved Me' is expected soon and will be followed by a pair of Series 2 Esprits - the World Championship Commemorative Edition car and the red 'For Your Eyes Only' ski resort car. All the delayed 2021 and new 2022 cars are available to pre-order from the Scalextric website and your favourite Scalextric retailers.