As one of 007’s most iconic gadgets, the submersible Lotus Esprit shot to fame following its appearance in 1977 James Bond classic The Spy Who Loved Me. More than 30 years – and three Bonds – later, the amphibious automobile has sold at auction for US $967,000 with fees.

The classic car went under the hammer in London yesterday (September 9) as part of an RM Auctions vintage car sale, which also saw a 1957 Maserati 250S and 1966 Ferrari up for grabs.

Although the auction fetched an eye-watering US $33 million overall, Bond’s Lotus fell short of its bottom-end estimate of US $990,000, something which classic car expert Dave Kinney, of USAppraisal.com, puts down to unrealistic valuations.

“After the excitement of record auctions in the summer, the estimates got ahead of themselves … this is a good sign that people aren’t prepared to pay crazy prices for everything,” Kinney told Bloomberg.

Other sources suggest that the below-par price may come down to the fact that the car is not fully functioning. As one of nine prop vehicles used for filming, this particular Esprit was created for underwater scenes and is equipped with streamlined fins and propellers rather than wheels.

The buyer, who lodged the winning bid via telephone at the Battersea Park auction house, is yet to be identified.

Last month, RM Auctions secured a place in the record books after selling a vintage 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S NART Spyder for US $27.5 million, making it the most expensive public car sale in the world.