Any number of memorable movie vehicles are on the road today: a DeLorean, wood-paneled station wagons, vintage Pontiac Trans Ams, an orange Dodge Charger with a"Dixie" horn.

That last might not be an easy find. But it's more conceivable than the Lotus Esprit James Bond so casually drove into the ocean in The Spy Who Loved Me. Or is it?

Billionaire investor and Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently dropped a cool $866,000 on the James Bond submarine-car, and will turn it into a working undersea vehicle.

The high-tech vehicle — affectionately known on the 1977 movie set as "Margie Nixon" and "Wet Willie" — was put up for auction in early September in England. It sold to an unnamed "collector" for less than the expected $990,000, and Tesla confirmed today that the buyer was Musk, who is also head of SpaceX and a noted car enthusiast.

"It was amazing as a little kid in South Africa to watch James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me drive his Lotus Esprit off a pier, press a button and have it transform into a submarine underwater," Musk said in a statement emailed to PCMag. "I was disappointed to learn that it can't actually transform."

In an effort to make that movie stunt a reality, Musk plans to turn the prop into an actual car that transforms into an underwater sub.

"What I'm going to do is upgrade it with a Tesla electric powertrain and try to make it transform for real," he said.

In the classic film, Roger Moore's James Bond steers the white sports car off a pier and into the water, and just when you think it's all over for the super spy, his car sprouts fins and propellers, and maneuvers its way along the ocean floor.

Drivers are not encouraged to try this at home, at least not until Tesla mass produces its Lotus knock-off.

For more, see PCMag's Q&A with Skyfall stunt coordinator, Gary Powell.

For more, check out PCMag Live in the video below, which discusses Musk's latest high-tech adventures.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at noon with comment from Tesla Motors.

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