#Real Life Tony Stark Buys 1977 James Bond Submarine-Car
Sheldon Ferrao
Oct 19, 2013
Elon Musk is the real life Tony Stark with government technology contracts, pioneering the development of future-defining technology, and even flings with actresses. The only thing missing is that metal cladded Ironman suit.
Recently he won a bidding war for the Lotus-based submarine car used in the 1977 James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me. In the movie, the car’s wheels would retract, fins would extend out of the car, and the enclosed vehicle could be driven underwater.
At a price tag of $860,000 the car does not actually transform. In order to film the transformation in the movie, the producers used several Lotus vehicles with different modifications. This model is the submarine version; they used a Roger Moore stunt double, wearing an oxygen-tank, to operate the vehicle underwater.
Not phased by the car’s limitations, Musk plans to upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and make it capable of transformation.
The billionaire entrepreneur is the founder of SpaceX and cofounder of Tesla Motors and Paypal. He is currently working on the revolutionary Hyperloop, which would transport people and objects between the Greater Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Area (350 miles) in less than 30 minutes.
In a few years, don’t be surprised if Musk decides to put a Tesla electric powertrain engine inside an Ironman movie prop himself!