RE: We drive the all-new Esprit

[dickiecox]

Loads Of Trouble Usually Serious

[MiseryStreak]

dickiecox said:

Loads Of Trouble Usually Serious

Oh you're that guy...

[F1GTRUeno]

That looks lovely, just wish they hadn't repainted it white. Why is everything white nowadays?

As someone mentioned, the guy should recondition them, he'd make a mint.

[0a]

I get that it's a bit of a joke, but this car isn't "new" at all - it's a reasonably low mileage car with some new parts on it.

I love the look of the Esprit though - the earlier the better looking they are in my opinion. I'd be very happy with this one of course, but would be looking to change the white at some point (almost no cars look good in white, and the VAG association has ruined it completely for me!).

[Zumbruk]

LuS1fer said:

I know it's got "history" in the 007 sub but I hate "common white" cars. Should have left it red.

I expect it was 5 different shades of red. I dunno why they repainted it white instead of red, though!

[Monty Zoomer]

john_r said:

Sadly the new Esprit will probably be the final nail in the coffin of Lotus IMHO.

The press will rave about how good it is, but they won't tick the 'would you buy one' box - it will be very over-priced and under-supported.

Lotus should stick to small, lightweight, efficient, cost effective sports cars - it's the only way they'll survive I reckon.

What are you on about?

[dubbs]

f1ten said:

the esprit really still is one of the best looking super cars ever made. We also know how rare this machine is... But need i also remind people that it didnt quite do what a ferrari or lamborghini did, so as a 10 year old "lotus" its value cant be much more than a normal Esprit except add 15% for the modernisation/ refurbishment works. this one has no race pedegree so its unlikely to go for too much of a premium. Its just a really nice sorted Esprit. Certainly one to buy at sensible money. Again, its not the first nor last esprit to roll off the production line etc...

What does "didn't quite do what a Ferrari or Lamborghini did" mean? It was a sharper and faster car in the Sport 350 guise than a 355 iirc. Even with that gadawful gearbox and chocolate teapot half shafts

[robinessex]

Right. Plan 1. Lotus buys up all the half decent Esprit it can find, and sets up a refurbishment production line. Go a bit further than this one, new engine and gearbox on offer if you want it, plus other bits and pieces. Sell like hot cakes. Make some money. Customers come flooding back. Plan 2. There isn't one.

P.S. I wonder if they still have the body moulds and chassis jigs ? Any spies around who'll know?

[nogsk]

Ah, Lotus when it was, err, Lotus. I owned an S3 for a while, and apart from having to fall in and out ( literally, hand on floor ), and headlights with minds of their own, it was a fantastic handling car with more than adequate performance back in the 80's. It was white too.

[GTRene]

I'm not a fan of the earlyer box type interiors...

but am a fan of the later types, more rounded dash etc...much better.

[Dr Imran T]

One of my all time favourite cars and it's British!

[toppstuff]

dickiecox said:

Loads Of Trouble Usually Serious

Oh Wow ! Thats really, really funny. I have never heard that before. Not ever. Ground breaking automotive humour. Truly, you are a shining example of whit and humour.

Awesome ! I love the truly original material you have there. I hope the Top Gear and Sniffpetrol talent scouts are reading this, you are truly a motoring-related humour legend.

Do you have jokes about Skodas and skips as well?

[anything fast]

I am pretty sure the original Lotus Espirit was lighter and more nimble than a Ferrari 308 and at a fraction of the price of a Fezza

The Espirit is much overlooked, prob because it was not made with so called 'passion' of (break-down-as-soon-as-you-look-at-it) old italian exotics... wait a few years and i bet the prices will rocket..

[TaRD]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. So beautiful in fact I had to say it three times. Well four.

[jimjim150]

herebebeasties said:

jimjim150 said:

How much do people reckon this will sell for? Would LOVE to own an Esprit, but can't really justify the cost of a nice, late model mortgage comes first!

Would love this - http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/4187916.htm

Oooh. How much do the V8s cost to run, realistically?

Any owners care to chip in? Would be interested to hear difference in ownership of the V8 / Turbo 4.

[ukmike2000]

I have never been a fan of the Esprit - and the fact that this is a one-off makes it somehow less desirable. Lotus tried to play with the big boys with a car that was barely half a step up from a DIY Kit Car. A friend of mine is a Lotus fanatic but even he doesn't want an Esprit.

[Raoul Duke]

They aren't for everyone, but I absolutely love the Esprit, always have and always will. Couldn’t agree more re the rear lights on this one, but suspect it wouldn't be that difficult to replace these with some earlier ones.
No doubt that this will find a home with an enthusiast very quickly, irrespective of the fact that ( understandably ) the price is likely to be on the high side.
One thing that would concern me would be the availability of gearboxes, IIRC Renault stopped making them some time ago and supplies are now getting scarce?
This certainly wouldn’t stop me buying it if I had the spare cash, but it would make me nervous of giving it the full beans on a track, which for a car like this where everything on it is as factory fresh as possible would seem a bit of a shame. Unless of course a crated / re-con gearbox could be found, in order to be stored away somewhere for future use.

[Gilhooligan]

Needs less spoiler in my opinion.

[DJRC]

robinessex said:

Right. Plan 1. Lotus buys up all the half decent Esprit it can find, and sets up a refurbishment production line. Go a bit further than this one, new engine and gearbox on offer if you want it, plus other bits and pieces. Sell like hot cakes. Make some money. Customers come flooding back. Plan 2. There isn't one.

P.S. I wonder if they still have the body moulds and chassis jigs ? Any spies around who'll know?

Do you know, I dont think that is a half bad plan at all. Offer a "re-map" on the engine, a new transmission...DSG if possible...and put em out the door. Reconditioned Esprits, 400 ponies, decent gearbox.

Watch the fkers fly out of the door.

[toppstuff]

ukmike2000 said:

I have never been a fan of the Esprit - and the fact that this is a one-off makes it somehow less desirable. Lotus tried to play with the big boys with a car that was barely half a step up from a DIY Kit Car. A friend of mine is a Lotus fanatic but even he doesn't want an Esprit.

That really is a massive bag of wrongness. There is so much wrong in your post, I hardly know where to start.

The V8 Esprit is still a genuinely fast car. And the handling is simply fantastic. In many respects, it gave the Ferrari 355 GTB a bit of a spanking. The chassis is that good.