PH Heroes: Lotus Esprit Turbo HC
The Esprit always needed the power to match its supercar looks. Ollie Stallwood finds out how a turbocharger did just that...
When you bring out the new flagship of a supercar range and it only has 215bhp, you better have either a good sense of humour or a very good product. When Lotus wheeled out the Esprit Turbo HC in 1980 the Hethel carmaker clearly hoped it had the latter.
Four years later Lotus decided to give the Esprit a kick up its Rover SD1-adorned backside and embraced the blossoming trend for turbocharging. A slightly larger 2.2-litre lump was chosen and a Garrett AiResearch turbocharger was mounted above the clutch bellhousing.
The engine gained a different camshaft profile and the boosted inlet air was fed to the Dellorto carburettors to a peak of 8psi above atmospheric pressure. This equated to a power boost to 215bhp at 6,250rpm and peak torque rose to 200lb ft at 4,500rpm.
Lotus was keen not to appear to be cutting corners by simply bolting on a turbo, so a number of aerodynamic tweaks were made to the shape, including a new deep front spoiler, side skirts, extra plastic around the tail, and of course huge louvres over the engine bay.
New 15” BBS alloys were fitted – 7” wide at the front and 8” at the back – with larger brakes sitting behind them. There was also a series of suspension tweaks to ensure the Turbo stayed firmly on the tarmac.
The Esprit scrapped away with the supercar elite all the way until 2004 and in true Lotus traditional was constantly fettled and tweaked to bring it in line with its next combatant. The latest cars, including the V8s, may have been more accomplished but for me the Guigaro shape is the most iconic, and the decision to turbo-charge is arguably one of the most forward thinking ideas in the Esprit’s long life.
I tracked down perhaps one of the best Turbo HCs, which was available in Leyton, east London – a Commemorative model from 1987, which is number 15 of just 21 built. This model was basically a stock HC with a few extras thrown in: Shadow Grey metallic and Silver Frost two-tone paint, and slightly iffy side graphics. This particular example has just 9,000 miles on the clock and is immaculate. It is currently for sale by Barry Ely Sportscars (www.barryelysportscars.co.uk), a Lotus dealer that has 30 years experience.
I meet Barry on a drizzly afternoon at the dealership and can think of no worse time to get to grips with a special edition supercar that makes hen dentists seem understaffed. In the dull light the grey/silver paintwork makes this Esprit look like no other, and gives it an almost industrial quality.
We head out of the urban sprawl with Barry behind the wheel, and he quickly shows me what the result of 215bhp and a wet road means. The rear tyres can be lit up at will and straight away you are faced with that eerie prospect that 215bhp really did seem to be totally different a few years ago than it is now.
The Esprit Turbo feels scarily quick, and even though it is just a four pot behind my head it has an angry growl, combined with a constant chatter from the tortured wastegate. It may look unwieldy, but as Barry shows me the rear can be coaxed round in the wet, but caught easily.
It is time for my go and I’m not feeling so heroic. But despite the slightly awkward driving position – knees scuffing the wheel, pedals offset to the left – it is easy to drive and quickly dishes out confidence. The clutch is ridiculously light and the Citroen SM gearbox is a joy to use, but the real trump card is the Esprit’s power delivery.
Turbo lag is almost non-existent, giving you instant, clean-revving power, on tap. This means it doesn’t have any nasty surprises and you are not wrestling with a mid-engined supercar coming on boost mid-way through a corner.
The lack of lag is helped by the fact that there is a smaller exhaust turbine and housing to reduce inertia and help the turbo spin up quicker. It is admirable engineering feat, and something most manufacturers still grapple with today. The two-spoke wheel sits nicely in your hands and provides intuitive steering feel that is heavy but reassuringly so. The brakes need a decent shove but once they grip will haul off the speed very effectively.
They demand dedication and the ability to overlook some fairly tiresome flaws.
But driving them is a full on experience.
And they really are an eyeful, even after more than thirty years.
I regretted selling mine so much that I bought it back again three years later.
Inbetween stints with the Esprit I owned a Ferrari 328, which was undoubtedly a better built and more sophisticated machine, but I prefer the Lotus.
Considering that it was conceived in a turnip field in Norfolk and carries the genetic code of a hundred British Leyland parts bins, the Lotus is a triumph of achievement over adversity.
Here's mine.
But yes, the ride height on the later S3s is rather higher than the early cars.
The temptation is to lower the car, but do you want to start screwing around with a car that handles so well?
Same car, different angle. Doesn't look quite so jacked up on this one.
I'm 6"2 with long legs and I manage reasonably well.
The cars with the large Riviera sunroof are the best to try, as it is wide enough to give you an extra inch of headroom.
And the roof tilts or lifts out completely, which resolves the headroom problem on dry days.
As far as legs are concerned, you can take the seat off its runners and mount it directly on the floor, but I haven't found this necessary.
My left shin is right up against the bottom of the dash rail, but that aside I can get sufficiently comfortable.
The very last high compression S3s had adjustable rake seats, but this doesn't seem to help much.
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