Esprit V8 Twin Turbo
Discussion
I'm not from this way, i'm normaly found lurking amoungst the TVR forums...
Anyhow, i do have a fondness for the the Esprit and Lotus in general.
I've read a couple of threads but i seem to be a little confused. I have seen S4, GT3, turbo, 2L Turbo, V8's... How many different types of Esprit are there?
Is the Esprit V8 twin turbo the "daddy"?
What is the "daddy" like to own? Does she cost an arm and a leg to maintain? I budget around £2/3k pa on my TVR to keep in tip top condition, could the same amount be budgeted on the Esprit?
I'm not looking to buy one at the minute but maybe one day in the future.
Thanks
666
Anyhow, i do have a fondness for the the Esprit and Lotus in general.
I've read a couple of threads but i seem to be a little confused. I have seen S4, GT3, turbo, 2L Turbo, V8's... How many different types of Esprit are there?
Is the Esprit V8 twin turbo the "daddy"?
What is the "daddy" like to own? Does she cost an arm and a leg to maintain? I budget around £2/3k pa on my TVR to keep in tip top condition, could the same amount be budgeted on the Esprit?
I'm not looking to buy one at the minute but maybe one day in the future.
Thanks
666
I'm in the same boat, more so in fact as I've just sold my T350 to buy *perhaps* an Esprit and release some funds for a new house. I'm after a Series 3 Turbo (the James Bond jobby), but equally compelling is an S4 which may be nearer to Speed 6 car experiences..? Can anyone inform either of us the best route to take (potentially 
)
)I can't advise or really help.
But only to say I personally prefer the S1's thru S3's visually. All early cars where n/a with the turbo 4 pot coming in with the S3.
The 4 pot turbo was sold along side the latter V8 models (I think all V8's where turbocharged??). The ultimate is probably the Sport 350 with its racing clutch and adjustable aluminium rear wing.
But only to say I personally prefer the S1's thru S3's visually. All early cars where n/a with the turbo 4 pot coming in with the S3.
The 4 pot turbo was sold along side the latter V8 models (I think all V8's where turbocharged??). The ultimate is probably the Sport 350 with its racing clutch and adjustable aluminium rear wing.
no, there is also a special version of the Esprit, the Sport 350 which was made lighter and more track focussed I believe, thats the one to have me thinks 
http://www.supercarworld.com/cgi-bin/showgeneral.c...
story said:
Taking the V8 GT futher, the Sport 350 was one of the most exclusive Esprits made.
Externally, a large carbon-fibre rear wing was attached. This wing was highly similar to the wing used on the X190R racecar. Indeed the Sport 350 had one of the most prominent wings to adorn a road car.
Lowering the kerb weight was a primary design focus for Sport 350. For this goal, special magnesium wheels were employed. At the time of manufacture, these were the lightest wheels availble on the market. Also reducing the weight, was a lightweight bodyshell. In total, the engineers managed to shed 80 kgs off the standard V8 GT.
Apart from the weight reduction, the other major change to Sport 350 was its braking system. Exclusive to the car are 320mm discs with blue-painted AP Racing Calipers. When Lotus engineers designed this car, they wanted it to be the fastest stopping Esprit. And it was. The car could go from 60 to 0 mph in just 3.2 seconds.
While exclusivity was offered with the Sport 350, it is ashame Lotus never tuned the engine beyond its standard specification. This is strange given the fact that every other aspect of the car was up-rated for track use. It was one of the closest cars to emulate the track experience on the road.
In total, only 50 Sport 350s were made, all having a huge 350 decal along the side of the car.
It featured the standard-spec V8 with blue-painted intake manifolds. What set the 350 Sport apart from the VT GT was a number brake, suspension and chassis improvements.
http://www.supercars.net/cars/2094.htmlExternally, a large carbon-fibre rear wing was attached. This wing was highly similar to the wing used on the X190R racecar. Indeed the Sport 350 had one of the most prominent wings to adorn a road car.
Lowering the kerb weight was a primary design focus for Sport 350. For this goal, special magnesium wheels were employed. At the time of manufacture, these were the lightest wheels availble on the market. Also reducing the weight, was a lightweight bodyshell. In total, the engineers managed to shed 80 kgs off the standard V8 GT.
Apart from the weight reduction, the other major change to Sport 350 was its braking system. Exclusive to the car are 320mm discs with blue-painted AP Racing Calipers. When Lotus engineers designed this car, they wanted it to be the fastest stopping Esprit. And it was. The car could go from 60 to 0 mph in just 3.2 seconds.
While exclusivity was offered with the Sport 350, it is ashame Lotus never tuned the engine beyond its standard specification. This is strange given the fact that every other aspect of the car was up-rated for track use. It was one of the closest cars to emulate the track experience on the road.
In total, only 50 Sport 350s were made, all having a huge 350 decal along the side of the car.
It featured the standard-spec V8 with blue-painted intake manifolds. What set the 350 Sport apart from the VT GT was a number brake, suspension and chassis improvements.
http://www.supercarworld.com/cgi-bin/showgeneral.c...
This is my web site on the Sport 350 I owned ( I owned it for a couple of years, and had 3 other Esprits before that ):
http://www.adrianmugridge.co.uk/sport350.html
It may be of some help.
http://www.adrianmugridge.co.uk/sport350.html
It may be of some help.
http://www.lotusespritworld.com/models.html
Oh, and the S350 didn't have a 'racing clutch' it was mechanically identical to the standard V8's apart from spring and damper rates.
Oh, and the S350 didn't have a 'racing clutch' it was mechanically identical to the standard V8's apart from spring and damper rates.
Diablos-666 said:
What is the "daddy" like to own? Does she cost an arm and a leg to maintain? I budget around £2/3k pa on my TVR to keep in tip top condition, could the same amount be budgeted on the Esprit?666
I own a V8GT and a Sport 350 (yes, am an addict) and I don't think I spend that much money in a year on both of them. And most of what I do to them is enhancement (exhaust, rear light panel upgrade, front spoiler etc etc). I keep them in good shape and believe they fare better if driven often rather than live a life as a garage queen. They have to be one of the most reasonable supercars to own, especially if you like doing some of the work yourself. The key is, as always, to buy wisely, and check over all the paperwork (most esprit owners log everything down). They put a smile on my face everytime I take them out. Not a common sports car either, and I like that. Good luck! Thanks guys, have a much better understanding of the car now.
Was watching some YouTube clips last night and in particular the top gear test track.
I took note of the following car lap times and in all honesty I thought the esprit twin turbo would have been quicker...
TVR T350 - 1min 27 secs
Noble - 1min 25 secs
Sagaris - 1min 24 secs
Esprit V8TT - 1 min 32 secs
I think I got the above times right.
Is there much more power to come out of the esprit engine? Normally turbo'd cars can make more power / litre than N/A cars, how come the esprit doesn't?
3.5l = 350bhp
The above post is not meant to offend, I'm just curious really.
Was watching some YouTube clips last night and in particular the top gear test track.
I took note of the following car lap times and in all honesty I thought the esprit twin turbo would have been quicker...
TVR T350 - 1min 27 secs
Noble - 1min 25 secs
Sagaris - 1min 24 secs
Esprit V8TT - 1 min 32 secs
I think I got the above times right.
Is there much more power to come out of the esprit engine? Normally turbo'd cars can make more power / litre than N/A cars, how come the esprit doesn't?
3.5l = 350bhp
The above post is not meant to offend, I'm just curious really.
Diablos-666 said:
I thought the esprit twin turbo would have been quicker...
Had they managed to get the tyres even slighty warm, then yes it would have been. Stone cold PS2s were never going to set a representative time.
The limiting factor with the V8 is the torque limit for the UN-1 gearbox. All the V8s gave 400Nm max and that came out around 350hp.
However, the ECU is programmed with lower boost (+ torque) values in the lower gears. The Sport350 only has reduced boost in 1st gear. The ECU from the SP350 can also be found in the Final Edition V8s and in those cars that have had the 'high torque' upgrade.
If you look on my profile there are all the service costs since new for mine.
The gearbox is certainly not chocolate teapot. Its used in many GT40 reps that are running way in excess of 350hp. It seems that Lotus wanted to set a limit where owners sidestepping the clutch at 5k rpm every other day weren't going to have the box re-kit itself.
It is a very simple matter to get around 440hp with these cars
The gearbox is certainly not chocolate teapot. Its used in many GT40 reps that are running way in excess of 350hp. It seems that Lotus wanted to set a limit where owners sidestepping the clutch at 5k rpm every other day weren't going to have the box re-kit itself.
It is a very simple matter to get around 440hp with these cars
Diablos-666 said:
Plus I was a bit surprised that a v8 twin turbo "only" made 350bhp but then I forgot about the chocolate teapot gearbox.
Why??Remember the Esprit V8 is not a 2011 motor car. When new 350hp was more than acceptable if you looked at a 911 C2, NSX, F355. Why should it make more power?
Turbocharging was just a different route, something that followed the company and cars heritage in running blown motors. And a tuning option that would offer up a much fatter mid range than a n/a motor of similar displacement.
I'm sure Lotus could have made it a 100bhp/litre na if they'd wanted too. Or I'm sure they could have given it 400-450hp with turbo's had they wanted too.
But as Jeremy Clarkson's video and drag race demonstrated, the Esprit was no slouch.
As for track times - do they really matter for a road car?
300bhp/ton said:
Why??
Remember the Esprit V8 is not a 2011 motor car. When new 350hp was more than acceptable if you looked at a 911 C2, NSX, F355. Why should it make more power?
Turbocharging was just a different route, something that followed the company and cars heritage in running blown motors. And a tuning option that would offer up a much fatter mid range than a n/a motor of similar displacement.
I'm sure Lotus could have made it a 100bhp/litre na if they'd wanted too. Or I'm sure they could have given it 400-450hp with turbo's had they wanted too.
But as Jeremy Clarkson's video and drag race demonstrated, the Esprit was no slouch.
As for track times - do they really matter for a road car?
I think some of the components were not up to more than 350hp, gearbox springs to mind, but i'm sure although not 100% certain, that other engine components are also marginal past thisRemember the Esprit V8 is not a 2011 motor car. When new 350hp was more than acceptable if you looked at a 911 C2, NSX, F355. Why should it make more power?
Turbocharging was just a different route, something that followed the company and cars heritage in running blown motors. And a tuning option that would offer up a much fatter mid range than a n/a motor of similar displacement.
I'm sure Lotus could have made it a 100bhp/litre na if they'd wanted too. Or I'm sure they could have given it 400-450hp with turbo's had they wanted too.
But as Jeremy Clarkson's video and drag race demonstrated, the Esprit was no slouch.
As for track times - do they really matter for a road car?
There are V8's out there that have gone on to quite high HP figures, but i think some moderate amount of extra work was required to get this done reliably
The turbos ran quite low boost as i understand, the N/A version of the motor made 270 to 280 hp so it was certainly not heavily boosted
I would also suggest you perhaps join or at least browse the Lotus esprit forum which contains so much useful information from people who run them on a day to day basis. I am a new owner of a V8 and really love the car having tried a lot of other cars before deciding on the V8. There is another thread on here which throws a lot of light on ownership but in my opinion they have a combination of looks, driving grin factor/performance that few cars can equal.
I've had two V8-GTs, both for about 3 years. The first was a 1998 with an excellent service record - until I bought it. Sheared manifold bolts (5), new cats, new gearbox, new oil and water radiators, discs all round, turbo waste gates, turbos, the list goes on. I wrote it off on black ice in January 2008. I had to pull all the records together for the assessor to give me a value and I made the mistake of adding it all up. About £16k if memory serves. In just under 3 years. The upside was he offered £15k which was exactly what I paid for it.
My current car is a 2001 and I've had it exactly 3 years this month. Total expenditure so far approx £5100 and that includes some preventative maintenance (oil/water cooling pipes, alloy waste gates and a few other items plus a full engine out cambelt service last year)
Both cars had similar mileage when I bough them and full service records but the first was a money pit. Go figure.
My current car is a 2001 and I've had it exactly 3 years this month. Total expenditure so far approx £5100 and that includes some preventative maintenance (oil/water cooling pipes, alloy waste gates and a few other items plus a full engine out cambelt service last year)
Both cars had similar mileage when I bough them and full service records but the first was a money pit. Go figure.
Hi RX7 said:
in my opinion they have a combination of looks, driving grin factor/performance that few cars can equal.
Yeah i think that sum's up Lotus all over really, whatever model, you get sporty/supercar style looks and running costs that while higher than normal cars, are not in the ferrari/lambo wallet busting league, + there is high proportion of car loving ownership, so loads of forums etc to get infoThe V8 is a really nice car, i definately want to own one at some point
GKP said:
http://www.lotusespritworld.com/models.html
Oh, and the S350 didn't have a 'racing clutch' it was mechanically identical to the standard V8's apart from spring and damper rates.
I thought the earlier V8's had a std single plate clutch. Later V8s and earlier made Sport350's the twin plate AP racing set-up.....Oh, and the S350 didn't have a 'racing clutch' it was mechanically identical to the standard V8's apart from spring and damper rates.
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