RE: Lotus Esprit GT3 | Spotted

[snowen250]

If i had the cash I'd buy this in a heartbeat. And i would drive the absolute nuts off it at every opportunity. A lovely thing. Memories of watching the LM versions at LeMans and then British GT are highlights.

And condolences to you and your family. Hopefully you can replace this with something that will bring you a sense of peace.

all the best

[IMI A]

My old boss was a friend of a certain Colin Chapman and when he noticed I'd just bought a new Porsche and sent me up to Hethel where they were kind enough to show me around the factory and also let me have a go in a chrome orange Esprit GT3 and V8 Esprit

GT3 was the better car by a country mile and a very fine handling car around the track at Hethel. They look stunning in the flesh in Orange - best colour IMO for a GT3

[Chris-xzk0j]

Mark - I’m so sorry to hear about your loss.

I have to say as a fellow GT3 owner this is a wonderful looking car. If it wasn’t for the fact that I already have too many cars I would be seriously considering this one as Chrome Orange was my first choice when I was looking for one as they look absolutely stunning.

I have owned mine for 5 years now and did a couple of thousand trouble free miles in the first year but have hardly used it since...mainly because it’s such a pig to get it in and out of my garage as I have my old mini wedged in one corner so it takes a lot of manoeuvring to get it out safely.

I actually came close to selling mine two years back but similar to yourself I decided against it in the end. The interest was overwhelming but I felt that most people were looking to buy it as an investment and weren’t true enthusiasts. I’m so pleased I didn’t sell it and now know that it will be with me for good.

The positive responses it receives whilst out and about is definitely heart warming.

[shambolic]

Sporadically pass this one now and again. Grass is higher than last year up to just under Windows and looks as if it’s never moved in 4/5 years.
This is an older google street view image of it.
Shame.

[bencollins4]

So sorry to hear the circumstances of the sale Mark. Best wishes.

The Esprit was my first dream car and sitting in one at the age of about 10 is the reason I have an Elise S1 now.

A GT3 in a bold colour seems pretty perfect to me!

Hope it goes to a good home, sadly won't be mine as I couldn't part with my Sport 135.

[unsprung]

I always thought that the shape or form factor of this car lends itself to being recreated today. A modern version might be slightly larger, but not by much.

The result would look remarkably like the original whilst incorporating all of the mod cons and engineering / safety that are now required.

[Frimley111R]

Heartbreaking news, don't know what else to you apart from it's a lovely car and I hope this extra push will help it find its second perfect owner.

[Demonix]

It is a fantastic looking Esprit, well maintained and an affordable "Supercar", would definitely purchase if I didn't have 2 kids and require something boring and practical for family taxi duty. Grew up with Moore as Bond and have an affection for the S1 onwards. Hope you find a lucky buyer who'll cherish this fantastic piece of British motoring history!

[bobo79]

I do love the Esprit - and the GT3 is unquestionably one of the most interesting of the lot. I am always a bit surprised how much they weigh though. How heavy was an S1?

[Cold]

bobo79 said:

I do love the Esprit - and the GT3 is unquestionably one of the most interesting of the lot. I am always a bit surprised how much they weigh though. How heavy was an S1?

An S1 was just a touch under 900kgs. The chassis and bodyshell and subsequent NVH suppression aren't nearly as substantial as the later cars. So yes, as they got older they did put on some weight but are a much better "car" for it, even if it that is at the expense of some delicacy.



FWIW, don't be put off by the relatively low power from the 920 engine. If you are that way inclined, then it's not difficult to knock on the door of a reliable 300bhp simply by using bolt-on parts.

[RobEB]

Wow, just under £40k new, now selling 20 years on for £32k. Talk about not losing value...
I would love to have one of these, the GT3 was always touted as the best of the Esprit models, easy to drive and brilliant performance.

[Loose_Cannon]

bobo79 said:

I do love the Esprit - and the GT3 is unquestionably one of the most interesting of the lot. I am always a bit surprised how much they weigh though. How heavy was an S1?

I can push my GT3 around (just) in the garage by myself, 1230kg is pretty light by most car standards. When I had an old 70 Elite I couldn't do that.

An S1 Esprit was 900kg

[Loose_Cannon]

RobEB said:

Wow, just under £40k new, now selling 20 years on for £32k. Talk about not losing value...
I would love to have one of these, the GT3 was always touted as the best of the Esprit models, easy to drive and brilliant performance.

Oh to be sure it dipped midway though, at one point about 10 years ago GT3s were going for mid teens (a one that needed a little work went for £11500).

Allowing for inflation its done pretty well though not quite as good as the DBS or Jensen Interceptor Convertible I considered when shelling out the colossal (for me) purchase price 16 years ago! I was never a cautious investor.

[Chris Y]

Bad timing. If this had been for sale 6 weeks ago I would have almost certainly bought it as I absolutely love the colour. I bought the first built of only 2 GT3's ever made in Nautilus Blue. I don't know if the other one still exists. It's a lovely colour but would have preferred the orange.

[sr.guiri]

I'm sure this is fantastic, and certainly something I'd invest in if I could, but 1250Kg doesn't seem that light to me. Wasn't the Cerbera less than that with a massive 4+ litre V8. The Cerb also had the additional weight of a prop shaft plus rear axle/diff and 2 rear "seats".

I struggle to see how they could have made it this heavy - a spaceframe chassis and plastic body with a 4 pot 2 litre, they should've been able to get that under 1000kg, especially as it was apparently a stripped out version.

Just a thought.

[sr.guiri]

Chris Y said:

Bad timing. If this had been for sale 6 weeks ago I would have almost certainly bought it as I absolutely love the colour. I bought the first built of only 2 GT3's ever made in Nautilus Blue. I don't know if the other one still exists. It's a lovely colour but would have preferred the orange.

LOVELY!!!

[anonymous-user]

sr.guiri said:

I struggle to see how they could have made it this heavy - a spaceframe chassis and plastic body with a 4 pot 2 litre, they should've been able to get that under 1000kg

It's not a space frame chassis, it's a backbone chassis (there's been a recent thread on this very subject).. Esprit was homologated for global markets and passed all applicable crash tests in its day.

It's also worth remembering the earliest Esprits were only lighter because Colin Chapman left out half the rear suspension, the power steering, the air conditioning, the turbocharger, all of the rust proofing and an assortment of other stuff as well! Later customers, particularly from S3 onwards, received a much better car, albeit somewhat heavier.

[Loose_Cannon]

sr.guiri said:

I'm sure this is fantastic, and certainly something I'd invest in if I could, but 1250Kg doesn't seem that light to me. Wasn't the Cerbera less than that with a massive 4+ litre V8. The Cerb also had the additional weight of a prop shaft plus rear axle/diff and 2 rear "seats".

I struggle to see how they could have made it this heavy - a spaceframe chassis and plastic body with a 4 pot 2 litre, they should've been able to get that under 1000kg, especially as it was apparently a stripped out version.

From Wikipedia (maybe its right): "The Cerbera's weight was quoted by TVR at 1100 kilograms, although customers claimed the weight varied between 1,060 kg and 1,200 kg"

[Strugs]

So much want for this. Esprit is such a hero car of mine, from childhood as others have said.. fingers crossed my numbers come up tomorrow or before this one sells!

[sege]

Loose_Cannon said:

From Wikipedia (maybe its right): "The Cerbera's weight was quoted by TVR at 1100 kilograms, although customers claimed the weight varied between 1,060 kg and 1,200 kg"

Yeah, didn't every Peter Wheeler era TVR weigh exactly 1100kgs?! No matter what model, what options, all somehow always weighed exactly 1100kg. Lol. I think it was more a case of 'close enough is good enough'.
Wonderful looking car, GLWS, I think if I were in the market for an Esprit I would probably forgo a V8 and ideally go for a gt3 or Sport 300 as someone else mentioned too. Both probably hard to come by and a great example like this should be snapped up quickly I would hope.