Lotus Esprit 2002 News

There's always a great deal of interest any time one of the cars used in a 007 movie is offered for sale. And you can probably multiply that by 59 times for the collection of Bond vehicles owned by US real estate mogul Michael Dezer.Dezer is known for  development on a grand scale: nearly the entire suburb of Chelsea in NewYork, and several massive projects in Florida including partnerships with Donald Trump for the 900 million Trump Towers, $600 million Trump Grande Ocean Resort and Residences and the $166 million Trump International Hotel and Tower.And Florida is also where he garages his collection of 1800 vehicles, including the 59 genuine Bond ones he's selling, each of which has appeared in one of the movies.The catch is that Dezer insists they be bought as one lot, for US$33 million ($37 million). But the buyer will have a fairly comprehensive sample across the Bond series.Among the 59 are a Fairey Huntress boat used in 1963's From Russia With Love and an Audi A5 and Land Rover Defender used in the most recent film, Skyfall, for the kickstarter car chase scenes.From films in between, there are a brace of Aston Martin DB5 coupes, one of which helmed by Pierce Brosnan for Goldeneye -- and the Russian T55 tank from the film. The famed Lotus Esprit S1 that morphed into a submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me is also one of star vehicles, as are the armoured and armed BMW 750iL from Tomorrow Never Dies, and the Jaguar XKR from Die Another Day.There are also more everyday wheels, including the Citroen 2CV from For Your Eyes Only, and a replica of the AMC Hornet from The Man With The Golden Gun. The collection has been on display at the Dezer Musuem in Miami, and it's likely the buyer will do something similar once the deal is done.And while it will make a little space in the Dezer garage, there are still plenty of interesting cars staying there, including the 1948 Ford from Grease,  the 1981 DeLorean from Back to the Future, the Ghostbusters 1959 Cadillac, an original Batmobile, the Lamborghini Social Experiment Project AU 79, and many, many more.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

In 2010, one of the James Bond Aston Martins from “Goldfinger” sold at auction for a jaw dropping 4.7 million dollars. Meanwhile, the Lotus Esprit submarine car driven by Sir Roger Moore in the Bond film “The Spy Who Loved Me” is scheduled to go under the hammer. It is the only working example of the six Lotus Esprits used in filming. The Esprit was shipped off to Long Island, New York when filming ended, where it was stored for 10-years in a container. After the lease on the storage unit ran out the contents were sold in a blind auction. When the couple who won the bid discovered what they had bought, they had the Lotus authenticated and now have it for sale. What's it worth? Who knows, but rest assured, someone will pay big money for it. The replica Ferrari stolen by Matthew Broderick in “Ferris Bueller's Day Off” will also go to auction soon. Expect serious money to be thrown around.  Remember the 1970s TV detective show “The Rockford Files” starring James Garner? The fictional private eye, Jim Rockford, always drove a gold Pontiac Firebird Esprit. And yep, you guessed right. There are collectors who seek out the 18 Firebirds used during the six years of the series. Garner kept one car when the series closed. In the mid-eighties he gave it to a charity auction .It was won by the proverbial little old lady. It's been through a few hands since then and now resides in Iowa. In “Back to the Future”, Michael J. Fox sped through time in a sleek DeLorean. In Dec 2011, one of the seven DeLoreans used in the trilogy fetched $540,000 at auction. The iconic Batmobile from the 1960s television show sold for $4.62 million at action earlier this year. Holy cow, Batman!! Famed car customiser George Barris built the Batmobile in 15 days with a budget of $15,000, basing it on the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car he'd bought from Ford for $1 a few years earlier. The black Falcon coupe from the Mad Max films almost went to the blast furnace. After the second Mad Max movie it was left in an Adelaide wrecker’s yard until rescued and restored. You can now see it in the Dezer Museum, Miami, Florida. And then there are the Pontiacs used in Burt Reynolds classic “Smokey and The Bandit”. They are out there somewhere. So start looking and start saving! www.retroautos.com.au