One avid James Bond fan has purchased a piece of the 007 legend in the form of Bond’s infamous white submersible Lotus Esprit that appeared in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me. The vehicle was sold at auction for more than £500 000, according to The Guardian. For you non-Brits out there, that’s almost $800 000 or in our humble estimates, far too much money for a car.

Roger Moore, For Your Eyes Only Still
Moore made for one adventurous Bond.

But the Lotus isn’t without its history to back up the ridiculous price. After becoming one of the stars of the 007 movie, it was lost to history for a while. Until 1989 when the iconic vehicle was found in a storage storage container in New York, purchased for $ $100 (£64). Even adjusting for inflation, that’s quite a bit lower than the car’s current price.

24 years ago, the Lotus was discovered beneath blankets in the storage container after it was placed there following the completion of filming on The Spy Who Loved Me, which starred Roger Moore in his third turn as 007. The owner of the container apparently had no idea of the value of its contents. The Ian Fleming Foundation later confirmed that the vehicle was the one used in The Spy Who Loved Me. While in real life, the Lotus is hardly amphibian, it’s new owner is still happy to shell out approximately £616 000 after all the fees have been calculated. Wonder what kind of mileage he/she could get on their new ride.

Roger Moore, Octopussy Still
And he had a vehicle to match.