Just ahead of the newest James Bond movie, BBC's Top Gear has created and tested one of the most famous of the franchise's gadgets: the submarine car.
While the original submarine car in The Spy Who Loved Me is a Lotus Esprit, Top Gear made the "Wet Nellie" with a Lotus Excel. And like James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder, "Wet Nellie" is one of those cars that never ceases to fascinate us.
Complete with a "007" license plate, it boasts many ingenious features that should allow it to function underwater: the windshield is made of the same plastic used for astronaut's helmets and plane windows, and shouldn't cave under the pressure of the water. The interior is reinforced with a glass fiber to prevent leaks, and thrusters are driven by electric motors to allow underwater propulsion.
Finally, to allow the car to sink so it can be entirely immersed, its tires are filled with concrete.
Now this maybe doesn't sound anything like a car James Bond would drive, but even on land, this feat of engineering outclasses all competition — if there is any!
With a James Bond car perhaps a possibility, we think it's time to start working on that time-traveling DeLorean.
Watch the the clip to see if Top Gear's invention really works!
And if the car's features fascinated you, please SHARE!
