Bond's The Spy Who Loved Me Lotus Esprit hits the auction block

Click above for a gallery of the Esprit S1 from The Spy Who Loved Me

Hey, if you missed the For Yor Eyes Only Lotus Esprit sale a couple of years ago, your shot to own another Bond-driven Lotus is on the horizon. In December, Bonhams will auction one of the two 1976 Lotus Esprit S1s used in The Spy Who Loved Me. The film is well known for the car/motorcycle/helicopter chase that culminates with the Lotus flying into the drink and turning into a submarine (one of those famous prop cars sold last year); and the Stromberg hench-babe giving chase in a JetRanger turning into a charcoal briquette.

A look at the photos Bonhams includes with its listing make it pretty clear that the interior used in the chase sequence's dialogue scenes between Roger Moore and Barbara Bach did not match the one in the actual car being auctioned. The proud new owner of this one will surely revel in the splendor of its green-and-red plaid motif! Bonham's expects this Esprit to fetch more than £80,000 -- a healthy premium over what less famous S1s go for on the open market.. Still, we'd fork it over in about two seconds if we had that kind of walking around money. For some of us, this car was our first exposure to the Esprit, and it looks as good as ever. (Even better with Barbara Bach riding shotgun...)

Follow the jump to relive The Spy Who Loved Me's chase sequence.