Lotus Esprit V8 | The Brave Pill
The V8 Esprit still offers a compelling combination of performance and style
While nostalgia is both Brave Pill's raison d' etre and stock in trade, it's not always expended on the period that our compellingly risky offerings actually came from. The first sight of this fine-looking 1996 Esprit V8 didn't immediately trigger rose-tinted memories from the year of its creation (Dolly the sheep and Take That splitting up to an Oasis soundtrack). Rather it turned thoughts to the trough in V8 values that came around a decade later, the halcyon time when it was possible to get a good example for well under half of what our (fairly priced) Pill is now being offered for.
The secondhand market had always treated the Esprit with a level of caution that got close to bargepole, especially as the frequently shonky build quality of early examples became apparent. But when the V8 was launched in 1996 the additional level of mechanical complication from its purpose-built engine soon earned it a five-alarm rating from the more skeptical parts of the motor trade (i.e. most of it.) In 2008 I did a used supercar story featuring a very similar car to our Pill, which a dealer in a leafy part of the Home Counties was attempting to sell for a not-outrageous £15,000. He'd had it for three months and, prior to my request to borrow it, the phone hadn't rung once.
It was my first time in an Esprit V8 and I was much more impressed than I had expected to be. The contemporary tests I'd read when the car came out had warned about a subdued soundtrack, crypt-tight interior and a gearshift that seemed to take a perverse pleasure in in its frequent inability to find ratios. While all those characteristics were present, I soon got used to the grumpy gearbox, and none did much to diminish the specialness of both the Esprit's enormous performance - which still felt properly fast more than a decade after it had launched - but also the beautiful Lotus-like way it flowed down a road, suspension working with bumps, dips and cambers rather than fighting them like a more traditional supercar. I heaped considerable praise on it, but in vain - it was still for sale several months later.
The story of the Esprit has always intertwined the preferred British narratives of 'plucky underdog' with 'defeat from the jaws of victory'. The original car was launched in 1976 to what was almost radioactive critical acclaim, the car becoming even cooler the following year after its scene-stealing submarine cameo in The Spy Who Loved Me.
But early owners soon discovered that build quality had improved little over Lotus's traditionally limited efforts and the car's honeymoon was short and filled with shouted arguments and smashed wedding crockery. Things got better over time, but it took the arrival of new versions to turn the headlines good again. First the Turbo in 1980, which outpaced V12 supercars with its four-cylinder engine - then the heavily revised X180 generation in 1987 when Peter Stevens managed the near-impossible task of modernising Giugiaro's original design without ruining it.
While the arrival of the X180 drove the Esprit to unprecedented sales success, it was short lived. Sales peaked in 1988, the only year in which more than 1000 cars left the factory, and then began a long decline as Lotus turned its attention first to the M100 Elan and then getting the Elise to market. But Lotus didn't want to give up on its most expensive model given the potential for much-needed profit, and with even the punchier versions of the four-cylinder engine starting to look short on thrust, committed to the considerable effort and expense of creating a V8 version.
This didn't use a bought-in powerplant, rather a Lotus-built all-aluminum engine with 90 degrees between its banks, a flat plane crankshaft and a pair of Garrett turbochargers. The new motor was reckoned to be capable of producing up to 500hp, which would have turned the svelte Esprit into a genuine supercar-beater, but the need to work with the less-than-sturdy Renault-sourced transaxle used by lesser Esprits meant it was downtuned to 350hp. Even so, in the sub-1400kg Esprit that translated to serious performance, blowing away the 0-60mph dash in 4.4 seconds and going on to a 175mph top speed.
On paper it looked compelling, but the Esprit V8 really struggled in the marketplace thanks to both those lukewarm early reviews and the unwillingness of punters to part with £60,000 for a Lotus, no matter how fast it was. It was tweaked over the years, getting a new cabin fascia in 1998 to replace the terraformed original, and the gearbox was also modified to give greater civility. A cheaper and pared-back V8 GT arrived in 1998, and the lightened-and-tightened GT350 was launched the following year. But by the turn of the millennium Lotus had given up on substantive changes, with the Esprit's quiet death in 2003 barely noticed.
Values of late Esprits fell quickly, but salvation came - in modest form - from an unlikely source. Dany Bahar's name still gets many Lotus fans reaching for pitchforks, but the ex-CEO's expensively ordered restoration of a late 'Final Edition' Esprit V8, and subsequent need to sell it after his sudden "don't let the door hit you on the arse" departure highlighted both how cheap the cars had become and how desirable they could be made. Values have certainly been climbing since almost exactly the same time, and now the nicest looking and best polished Sport 350s are often advertised for north of £60,000.
Our Pill is cheaper - of course! - but although courage is required to consider taking charge of any middle-aged Lotus it looks like a decent prospect. The dealer says the previous owner had it for 14 years, and that it has just had the replacement cambelt that crops up all-too-often on the V8 (officially it is two year/24,000 mile intervals). It's an early car with the angular dashboard, but the beige interior gives some light to the cabin - and British Racing Green does feel particularly appropriate on any Esprit. Advert readers will also encounter the interesting claim that it comes with "both sets of keys and owner's manual and wallet" - which should make it easier to pay for upkeep.
You'll also notice that there is no clear view of a numberplate in any of the advert pictures, which will doubtless get some anticipating an MOT record as bloody as the history of the Borgias. Fortunately Enzo the PH hamster has emerged from the dusty recesses of the database with a registration that reveals - drumroll please - what is probably the cleanest record of any car to have featured here. Having been off the road for a couple of years our Pill was ticketed in January with both that and the six previous MOT passes - going back to 2011 - having come without a single advisory, and confirming the mileage has been creeping up by around 1000 a year.
Taking on any Esprit requires the combination of a stout heart, a deep pocket and the ability to laugh (or at least smile grimly) when the inevitable bills arrive. The V8 is maintenance intensive and needs to be looked after by somebody who knows what they are doing - parts are getting scarce. But it is increasingly being acknowledged as one of the highlights of the Esprit's long and eventful lifespan. Any Esprit is a gamble, but this is a hugely tempting one.
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Chopped in a Sport 135 S1 Elise for her, - a 1998 model with 9k on the clock in 2000. In the 3 years I owned her the list was - new (sports) exhaust, turbo rebuild, 2 new cats, new recirculating pump, along with servicing, belts once, new heatshield and of course a set of tyres. Lived in East London at the time and the famous Barry Ely looked after her doing a great job.
Article says GT350 but should say Sport 350...i keep looking at them longingly. Next car was a 997 C2S which was a great car, cheap to run but nowhere close the Esprit.
Best power steering in a car ever, ABS kicked in just a little too early, but that could be ‘fixed’ by removing a certain fuse. Pedal box tight and tiny pedals for my size 10’s - always changed my shoes into thin trainers to drive.
Sadly having kids (and SWMBO) had kept me from getting another. Though having a Model 3 Performance now i think might be my second favourite car ever.
Highly recommend one, just have plenty of spare cash to keep her on the road (fuel tanks, radiator are weak point too) as is the infamous cylinder liner issue.
And yes a mate had one, but of all the issues it had the one nobody could solve was it’s refusal to restart once hot.
Chopped in a Sport 135 S1 Elise for her, - a 1998 model with 9k on the clock in 2000. In the 3 years I owned her the list was - new (sports) exhaust, turbo rebuild, 2 new cats, new recirculating pump, along with servicing, belts once, new heatshield and of course a set of tyres. Lived in East London at the time and the famous Barry Ely looked after her doing a great job.
Article says GT350 but should say Sport 350...i keep looking at them longingly. Next car was a 997 C2S which was a great car, cheap to run but nowhere close the Esprit.
Best power steering in a car ever, ABS kicked in just a little too early, but that could be ‘fixed’ by removing a certain fuse. Pedal box tight and tiny pedals for my size 10’s - always changed my shoes into thin trainers to drive.
Sadly having kids (and SWMBO) had kept me from getting another. Though having a Model 3 Performance now i think might be my second favourite car ever.
Highly recommend one, just have plenty of spare cash to keep her on the road (fuel tanks, radiator are weak point too) as is the infamous cylinder liner issue.
I think the engine in the Chevette HS/HSR was the same/similar.
These days people tend to use "intercooler" for both.
Only to buy in good overall condition and with a truly comprehensive service history. All the paperwork must be 100% dependable. These cars don't like being neglected.
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