Esprit for disposal

[renn68]

A mate has got a line on a 1992 Lotus Esprit, 87k in Black. Finance company is looking to flick it for what it owes - $38,500.

Anyone interested?

[Esprit]

Whoa, I thought you meant me for a minute!

Depending on the condition of the car, that's not a bad price. Is it an SE? or Non-SE Turbo?

[renn68]

Now where would the fun in that be

- its a turbo so you could play twinnies with Kylie (or a Targa car for Kylie)

[kylie]

Sheeeepers thats cheap for a 92. It will be a Turbo SE possible high wing (some people take em off). Its also chargecooled producing 264bhp, top speed 165mph (fast enough!). The interiors are to die for. A bit heavy though at 1320kg. If its been kept in good nick it would be a really good buy.

George M you always wanted an Esprit, might be worth looking at Be good for targa but would hate to service it every day $$$ Unless you gave it a toyota transplant!

[renn68]

now where did you put that Lexus V8 you had cluttering up your garage, Kylie

[kylie]

renn68 said:

now where did you put that Lexus V8 you had cluttering up your garage, Kylie

Your a bad bad boy. Imagine the trouble id get in when he come home to find his motor missing We actually did some measurements once to see if it would fit in an esprit. The engine bay would need widening by quite a bit. Its not a straight drop in. It would be my choice for a transplant though! That dam French box would have to go as well!

[Kiwi XTR2]

I need more garage space

[Esprit]

Hmmm if it's an SE I would have been keen... I dreamed of owning an SE through my teens Sadly, the Elise is all I can stretch to at the moment, and realistically I couldn't afford to run an Esprit (hence the attraction of the Elise) But after seeing Nick's car again on the weekend I know I'll have an SE someday.... just not for a wee while yet.

I never understood the SE Highwing thing. Kylie was there anything special about these other than the wing? I always thought the SE highwing was HIDEOUS, the "high-wing" they put on the S4 was much more attractive.

[kylie]

Esprit said:

Hmmm if it's an SE I would have been keen... I dreamed of owning an SE through my teens Sadly, the Elise is all I can stretch to at the moment, and realistically I couldn't afford to run an Esprit (hence the attraction of the Elise) But after seeing Nick's car again on the weekend I know I'll have an SE someday.... just not for a wee while yet.

I never understood the SE Highwing thing. Kylie was there anything special about these other than the wing? I always thought the SE highwing was HIDEOUS, the "high-wing" they put on the S4 was much more attractive.

Shame, one day. They can be cheap to own and run if you can do a lot of the maintenance your self. Most people take them on as hobby cars for this reason. Otherwise they can spend a lot of time in someone elses garage Generally I havent had any real major issues with mine all have been nice extra treats for it.

With the high wing, nothing special there apparently it was to reduce less drag. The only other option where the year fits in is with a extremly rare X180R. With only 20 made though for racing and massive price tags attached its highly unlikely.

[Esprit]

The X180R was a Homog version... kinda like a 300 Sport but more track focussed rather than being a Road car for the track wasn't it ?

[kylie]

Yep heres a good read on the X180R and if you click back into the models you will find all the others to compare notes www.lotusespritworld.com/EModels/x180r.html

OZ wheels which did various models of Lotus wheels did a special run of aftermarket Revolutions three peice rims which were identical. Thankfully one of the first owners of my car bought this kit, which included Sport 300 wing, SE front bumper and of course the rims. The rims are a good score!

[jamieheasman]

I might be missing something here but $38,500 from a finance company doesn't seem cheap to me. In fact it seems to be just about on the money. Most of the Esprits I've seen for sale in NZ pretty much mirror the prices in the UK and there are plenty of SE's around for 12k-ish. In fact for 14-16k you can pick up an S4 which is a far better machine by all accounts. OK they are in the UK and there are fewer cars available here but.....

Got to pull you up on the interior comment Kylie - all Esprits until the '99 facelift had apalling interiors! Not only were they very badly made and put together (yes, even worse that TVRs!) but they were hideously 70s too!

Mind you, I've never driven an Esprit so what would I know! Doesn't stop me from loving them though and I'd definitely have an HC guigaro in my dream garage!

[kylie]

Edited by kylie on Wednesday 27th September 00:48

[kylie]

jamieheasman said:

I might be missing something here but $38,500 from a finance company doesn't seem cheap to me. In fact it seems to be just about on the money. Most of the Esprits I've seen for sale in NZ pretty much mirror the prices in the UK and there are plenty of SE's around for 12k-ish. In fact for 14-16k you can pick up an S4 which is a far better machine by all accounts. OK they are in the UK and there are fewer cars available here but.....

Got to pull you up on the interior comment Kylie - all Esprits until the '99 facelift had apalling interiors! Not only were they very badly made and put together (yes, even worse that TVRs!) but they were hideously 70s too!

Mind you, I've never driven an Esprit so what would I know! Doesn't stop me from loving them though and I'd definitely have an HC guigaro in my dream garage!

Each to their own Jamie all good and valid Most people I speak to who own and "drive them" love the 80's styling and are quite disappointed with the "plastic look of the newer cars", the feeling out there is that it lost its appeal where it simply looks like any other car. It’s the same with the body shaping; it’s just got too rounded for some. But again each to their own liking

As with the price for this car, if it were presentable and needed little doing, I would still pay that if that was the model I were after. If it needed $$$ on it I would leave it. I agree that they are a 12-15K (pounds) car in the UK nothing new there (pun not intended). Bringing them in though is quite expensive with our crappy dollar and not knowing what you’re bringing in is a lucky dip, unless you have the luxury of flying over to view.

I have friends whose early SE’s are worth $50K+ NZD but they are almost concourse condition cars. People who have a bit of coin and know what they want are prepared to wait till the exact model and colour comes up for sale. If it’s a good example they will pay what ever it takes to buy it. I know that for a fact.
One of my friends drives around with a plastic protective cover on his seat! His car looks like it stepped out of a showroom and apparently the cleanest one in NZ from what I was told. I would pay good money for a clean example.

Edited by kylie on Wednesday 27th September 00:49