James Bond fans will no doubt be familiar with the scene from the 1981 blockbuster For Your Eyes Only where a pair of menacing looking grey beach buggies try to run down Roger Moore and his love interest, Lisl, played by Cassandra Harris…
Sadly the girl gets it, but not before one of the buggies does a spectacular belly flip. Now one of the buggies used for filming has come up for sale – but it’s not cheap!
The epic sequence was filmed on the Greek island of Corfu and it’s thought that three GP Super Buggies were used, two with a single roll bar and a third with more beefy overhead protection that featured a central bar from the windscreen.
It’s reported that one of the originals was in the Bond Museum in Keswick, but following the museum’s closure in 2011 it has since passed into private ownership (below). Meanwhile, the buggy that was rolled and damaged is thought to be an exhibit in the Miami Auto Museum.
So what happened to the third GP buggy? Well, it’s currently being offered for sale at a classic car dealer in Lymington – and you can see the advert here.
According to the seller’s description it is based on a 1970 Beetle chassis and is fitted with a 1493cc engine. It is still in its original condition and visually looks little different to how it appeared in the film. It is believed to be the vehicle driven by evil henchman Claus in the movie, played by a very young looking Charles Dance.
It was shipped to Spain but has returned to the UK and is on a UK registration. Still on its Goodrich tyres, the buggy is described as being all good underneath with no signs of welding, and has a valid MoT until August 2015.
And the price? A cool £25,000…
Ian
The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of VW Heritage
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There is much confusion and contradiction of which buggy is which and there respective roles within the film sequence. The above photographs show the buggy with the 007 logo on the side which driven by Locque is the buggy linked to running the girl over. The second buggy with the additional front roll cage and centre bar performed the roll over stunt. The 3rd buggy driven by Claus and likely used as the “camera car” buggy is considered not to have been damaged. Unfortunately this buggy’s whereabouts is unknown or even if ever returned from Corfu?……