Bond car to be sold at Blenheim

The Lotus Esprit comes with a ski rack

James Bond's Lotus Esprit from the film For Your Eyes Only is to be auctioned off in Oxfordshire.

The sale at Blenheim Palace by auctioneer Coys will take place on 18 July.

Two identical cars were supplied for the production but one was blown up during a stunt.

It would explode if the ignition was tampered with by Bond's would-be assailant. Reassuringly, the cars do not have this facility in real life.

Ski rack

The super-car was designed for a new generation of Bond fans, to be a less gadget-laden, more realistic car than the elaborate models of the 1970s.

The metallic bronze vehicle from the 1981 Roger Moore movie is however fitted with a ski rack.

It was the work of Lotus's own development team and prior to its starring role alongside Bond, the chassis number one car was used by Lotus boss Colin Chapman.

Coys director Edward Bridger-Stille estimated the car would fetch between £80,000 and £120,000 and said it had "great investment potential" in times of economic uncertainty elsewhere.