Here’s a silver lining of UK lockdown: the much-missed, NOS-fuelled V8 Espace project – the one where ambitious PHer Lexspace is fitting an LS400 V8 to a central-seat (!), on-its-arse Renault Espace – is back up and running. Lexspace’s mad project began way back in 2012, but due to work commitments (including the building of Ginetta race cars) it ground to a halt in 2016. It’s taken a lockdown to provide Lexspace with the time to restart the project in a very PH-worthy way – with the addition of bolt on arch extensions.
From what you can see, this Espace is already doing a pretty good impersonation of Renault’s own mad, F1-engined Espaces of yesteryear with the mods it wears so far. But rest assured this effort is totally bespoke, requiring fabrication of unique parts and some pretty substantial modification to the monocoque itself. It’s an enormous feat to transition the car from quirky French MPV into a high-powered three-seater usable enough for a trip to Le Mans. But you'll only need to spend five minutes reading the thread to realise that Lexspace is the man to achieve it…
That’s why pretty much everyone familiar with the project is delighted to see it restarted. If it takes isolation to ensure the Espace’s V8 is ready for a NOS-fuelled sprint to the Circuit de la Sarthe next year, so be it. For those unaware of the thread, we envy you, as you’ve got a lot of cool progress to catch up on from page one here. For the rest of us, here's hoping the updates will be coming in thick and fast. Keep up the good work, Lexspace!