Does the 1990's Lotus Esprit look dated?

[CR6ZZ]

Look at the Esprit as you might look at Raquel Welch - looks old, but you still would.....

[MarkP1973]

I think they look the bks! Awesome, especially that white one in the first 2 pics!!

[mollytherocker]

Now THIS is an Esprit.....

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...

[Rich1973]

It looks of it age. I think dated is the wrong word.
Would it excite every time you look at it? Certainly i reckon.

[Dick Seaman]

Dated is in the eye of the beholder.

What's not to like? They're lovely little British icons. (Giugiaro for me over Stevens though)

[jdw1234]

What's that quite from "gone in sixty seconds" about looking like a conoisseur rather than a weiner with too much money

[Impasse]

The white one is from the late 80's. Despite the later wheels it's an earlyish Stevens shape and will feel (and smell) very agricultural to drive.

The yellow car has pas, fuel injection and abs so will be a much more up to date thing to pilot.

[DKL]

From the out side they look great, slightly more dated on the inside.
But you would all the same.
Still trying to decide if I could live with the red interior of a proper Essex one.

[tbc]

YES

get an ELAN

[mollytherocker]

DKL said:

From the out side they look great, slightly more dated on the inside.
But you would all the same.
Still trying to decide if I could live with the red interior of a proper Essex one.

DK red is just the best isn't it.....

[Monty Zoomer]

The newer they are the more dated they are because over the years they kept adding more and more bits on to keep them looking modern but now they look old fashioned.

The S1 and S2 still look great though.

[carinaman]

Hoofy said:

I think so - but it's still a great car. The lines are straight and things like the bumpers aren't integrated with the body. Compare it to a Gallardo in terms of the way the bumpers are flush to the body and the way its straight lines are not quite so straight plus it's a simpler shape.

Have you seen the fit and finish of a Diablo? I'm not knocking your point, Lambos of the same period were hardly built to Golf IV clone standards of fit and finish.

I'm not sure I'd care what others thinks. It's an Esprit, if you want something that drives but is more update why wouldn't you get a VX220 or Elise? I think any true enthusiast would be interested.

The sunroof on that orange one looks pretty hideous to me. It's like the spoiler things you see on top of articulated lorry cabs, but I'm not a big fan of sunroofs.

A driving god I've met a few times drove Esprits.

Edited by carinaman on Thursday 4th July 22:42

[carinaman]

mollytherocker said:

DKL said:

From the out side they look great, slightly more dated on the inside.
But you would all the same.
Still trying to decide if I could live with the red interior of a proper Essex one.

DK red is just the best isn't it.....

That handbrake lever looks a bit of a stretch, but any further back and you'd risk injuring yourself getting in and out.

[markw996]

Impasse said:

The white one is from the late 80's. Despite the later wheels it's an earlyish Stevens shape and will feel (and smell) very agricultural to drive.

The yellow car has pas, fuel injection and abs so will be a much more up to date thing to pilot.

Thats a very good point you make, although I prefer the white one I think an S4 / GT3 would be the way to go if I decide to get one.

I'm not sure I could live with any interior pre-S4 either if I'm honest.

[V8Wagon]

Didn't the earlier Esprit's have a 2.2 engine? Seems tiddly for a junior 'supercar'

[markw996]

carinaman said:

That handbrake lever looks a bit of a stretch, but any further back and you'd risk injuring yourself getting in and out.

My handbrake is further back on my 944 but doesn't cause a problem,
lost count of the number of times I got my trousers caught on the one in my old 928 though!

[billzeebub]

Only if you happen to think the current trend for bloated, blingiest fussy designs look good? To me the Espirit is a beautiful design that has aged very well...

..get a yellow one

[RobM77]

V8Wagon said:

Didn't the earlier Esprit's have a 2.2 engine? Seems tiddly for a junior 'supercar'

That was actually the capacity right up to the V8, but with turbocharging and chargecooling they still held their own compared to contempary supercars of the time. The later 2.2 engines produced 300bhp and 290 lbft. Sure, things have moved on now in terms of performance, but they still drive beautifully.

[juansolo]

V8Wagon said:

Didn't the earlier Esprit's have a 2.2 engine? Seems tiddly for a junior 'supercar'

Late model GT3 for me (so it gets the updated interior). They're a 2.0 Turbo. Proper turbo too, with laaaag, hell yes.

[Oilchange]

Mine has done 130,000 miles and while its had a bottom end freshen up, it still goes like stink.
It's er being prepared at the mo...

Edited by Oilchange on Thursday 4th July 23:40