20 Things You Didn’t Know About The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

2. “Can You Swim?”

The Spy Who Loved Me Underwater Car
United Artists

Audiences were stunned when Double-0 Seven confidently drove off of Liscia di Vacca in Sardinia into the Mediterranean Sea.

An empty shell of the Lotus Esprit S1 was launched off of the pier pursued by Naomi’s machine-gun-toting Bell 206 Jet Ranger helicopter and footage of a miniature Lotus shot in a water tank showed the sports car drifting towards the seabed before it effortlessly transformed into a submersible. Derek Meddings then provided several full-scale models of the Lotus to represent each stage of its metamorphosis.

The underwater sequences with the Lotus were shot in The Bahamas and achieved using miniatures for sequences in which it is nearing Atlantis and a full-scale working submersible that was developed by Ken Adam in association with Perry Oceanographic, Inc. of Riviera Beach, Florida. Perry Oceanographic also provided the two-man mini-submarine that Stromberg’s men use to try and destroy the Lotus.

The Lotus submarine - nicknamed "Wet Nellie" in honour of the Little Nellie autogyro from You Only Live Twice - was not actually watertight and was driven by divers whilst Alka-Seltzer tablets stored inside it produced the requisite air bubbles from its occupants’ breathing.

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I started writing for WhatCulture in July 2020. I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have contributed to several short story competitions and I have occasionally been fortunate enough to have my work published. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I also started reviewing films on my Facebook page. Numerous friends and contacts suggested that I should start my own website for reviewing films, but I wanted something a bit more diverse - and so here I am! My interests focus on film and television mainly, but I also occasionally produce articles that venture into other areas as well. In particular, I am a fan of the under appreciated sequel (of which there are many), but I also like the classics and the mainstream too.