Last Esprit
The end of a very long era - last Esprit is on its way
The last Lotus Esprit has been driven off the Lotus assembly line at Hethel. The Lotus Esprit had been in production for 28 years and each car was hand built at Lotus' headquarters in Norfolk.
Since production started in 1976, 10675 Esprits have been built and sold all over the world.
The last Esprit, built for the USA market, uses the Lotus designed 3.5 litre twin turbocharged V8 engine producing 260 kW (350 hp) at 6,500 rpm and 400 Nm (295 ft.lb.) at 4,250 rpm.
The Lotus Esprit will be remembered by many as Britain's iconic supercar - an accolade held for four decades. Over the last 28 years, many famous celebrities and racing drivers have owned Esprits, but others will remember it for its many film roles. Such roles included the "Spy Who Loved Me" where James Bond used one of the first Esprits to foil his nemesis' henchmen in a spectacular car chase culminating in the Esprit metamorphosing into a submarine.
After another outing with James Bond in "For Your Eyes Only" in the 1980s, the fame and popularity of the Lotus Esprit was further enhanced when it was used as the lead car in the blockbuster film "Pretty Woman" with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in 1990. Two Lotus Esprits (one in black and the other in white) took leading roles in the 1990s film Basic Instinct.
The last Esprit, in Saffron Yellow with a black interior, will be delivered to a customer in the USA (the details of which cannot be released). The last Esprits to be sold in Europe were delivered to customers in mid 2003 and 46 "Final Edition" Esprits built exclusively for the USA market are being delivered to USA dealers throughout early 2004.
Clive Dopson, Director of Manufacturing at Group Lotus explained the significance of the Esprit to Lotus: "The Esprit today is as much of a head turner now as it was when the concept was exhibited in 1972. We are very proud of the fact that our supercar is now regarded by many as legendary, it has stood the test of time, demonstrated by the fact that it is still one of the highest performing cars in the world. For enthusiasts and fans, the end of the Esprit will be a sad time, but for Lotus this is a time for the celebration of our classic supercar. And let's not forget, we are working on new Lotus cars for the future, one of which will be a new mid-engined supercar to enter the marketplace in a few years time! "
Hmmm.... with any luck, values will go up then... :££££: (:$$$: for US readers 
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86turbo said:
I also hear new safety regulations killed it off... The driver's head being too close to the A pillar for example. Anyways, the Esprit had a great run, it truly is a legend now. Farewell.
Dan
Hi,
Safety Regs as well as pushing the current design about as far as it could go. The future held lots of redesign work for little improvement.
Lotus figured it'd be easier and more profitable to start with a clean sheet of paper.
Don't be surprised if you see Brake-by-Wire and Steer-by-Wire, active suspension, maybe even all wheel drive. None of which could have been easily incorporated into the existing chassis.
To quote the Late, Great Bob Hope... Lotus: "Thanks for the Memories!" Happy Motoring!... Jim'65TE
Dan
86turbo said:
Personally I think I'd prefer an Esprit replacement not to have throttle/brake by wire, active suspension, or too many other driver's aids. One of the things I enjoy most about my car is being able to feel so connected to it, its an experience that's had with few other cars. A Lotus for me is about the driver doing all the work rather than the car. I'd prefer not to have the road filtered through by a bunch of electronic devices. I also understand that Lotus probably does need to leap forward in technology to compete with the likes of modern supercars, Ferrari, Lambo, Pagani etc. But having electronic systems controlling so many aspects of the car make driving less exciting.
Dan
Hi,
I tend to agree with you, but I was born in the analogue age. Fact is, these systems are defining what the cutting edge is and consequently it's a little naive not to expect to see them.
Perhaps the moral to the story for people like us is to get and keep the ones we have in top shape. Like the old adage states: "They don't make 'em like they used to!" Happy Motoring!... Jim'85TE
v8thunder said:
Can't wait for the next one! If it's anything like the concept shown to Autocar it'll be on my wall in a flash!
I've always liked this car, preferring it to the 911 as a sort of British equivalent. The next one should be topping 200mph with any luck.
As long as we don't have to wait too long. I'm not sure I agree with the idea of killing off one model before you have a replacement ready. The abscence from that particular sector of the market may damage the brand in the long run. What do people think this will do to resale values? I'm after getting a V8 GT later this year. I hope it doesn't push them up.
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