This is James Bond's Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me in its submarine form. We get pop-out fins, a rear stabiliser and rockets that fire out of the roof.

I still remember seeing the movie at the pictures and the cheer that went up in the cinema when Roger Moore drove this car off the end of a pier and it slowly converted itself into a submarine. Given the way Lotus cars leak in the wet and the standard of fit & finish of the bodywork - they could not really have chosen a less suitable car - it would have sunk like a stone and stayed down there.

However the Corgi Toys 269 is a good one, the pop-out stabilisers are fun and the rockets really fire, although these days it is a bit risky as you might easily lose some of them. In mint and boxed condition this is a pricey item. The cars are always the same (except for some gold plated ones presented to VIPs at the film premier) but the boxes differ. The one to go for has the instructions on a separate sheet rather than printed on the box - but to get full value you need the leaflet and all ten rockets still on the sprue. James Bond's Lotus Esprit was released in July 1977 and remained in the catalogue right through to the Mettoy bankruptcy in 1983.

There are four post-Mettoy releases shown below.

Corgi Toys 1977	2000	2001	2002	2006
Corgi Toys 269; James Bond's Underwater Lotus Esprit	Corgi 65001; James Bond Lotus Esprit; Underwater, The Spy Who Loved Me With Jaws Figure	Corgi 65002; James Bond Lotus Esprit; Underwater, The Spy Who Loved Me The Definitive Bond Collection	Corgi TY04510; James Bond Lotus Esprit; Underwater: The Spy Who Loved Me The Ultimate Bond Collection	Corgi CC04512; James Bond Lotus Esprit; Underwater, The Spy Who Loved Me The Director's Cut

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Last Edit: 02/03/2023	Great Book of Corgi 1977	Page Added 02/03/2023