Wrapped in bold, hard-edged shells styled by legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, they were the very definition of cool — not to mention lightweight, fast and beautifully balanced. Yet, whatever their apparent potential, values for Seventies Esprits have been stagnant for decades.
Build quality was better, power higher and the refreshed design just as startling. Even if it can top mph. Instead, a Series Four in GT3 guise should be your pick. Built for just a couple of years, this pared-back mid-Nineties model packed a turbocharged two-litre motor that could, thanks to a low kerb weight, shoot the Esprit to 60mph in just five seconds and carry on past mph.
It steered and stopped sublimely and, like all S4s, had big silly wheels, a profile worthy of a poster and those all-important pop-up headlights. Basically the whole package. Advertisement Back to top Also worth knowing. At Lotus Esprit World lotusespritworld.
S4 and S4 S cars in good nick at the higher end of this price bracket. New windscreen, brake hoses and servo, suspension bushes and turbocharger with associated pipes. Engine recently tested and declared smooth and oil tight.
All-new Lotus model due next year. Lotus reveals bhp Evija as world's most powerful production car. Lotus at the highs and lows. Related articles. Latest Drives. Ferrari Competizione review. Cupra Formentor VZ2 1. View all latest drives. Also worth knowing At Lotus Esprit World lotusespritworld. Checking to ensure this was replaced if the clutch was repaired is wise as failure can cause damage to the engine crankshaft.
For the Series 1 and 2 cars the front suspension was from the Vauxhall Cavalier Mark 1 and comprised upper and lower wishbones with coil springs and telescopic shock absorbers, and a Vauxhall Cavalier anti-roll bar.
The lower wishbones are known to occasionally develop cracks near the anti-roll bar mountings. The rear suspension was all Lotus and comprised tapering box-section trailing arms with lower lateral links. The upshot of this is that the driving half-shafts serve as suspension components and so it is wise to ensure the correct Hardy-Spicer universal joints are used. It is also best to ensure the use of the correct wheel bearings front and rear and that they have been regularly and correctly greased.
The Esprit features rack and pinion steering and its important to remember that a steering rack needs maintenance, and it ultimately wears out requiring replacement. Not only does the rack itself need maintenance but also the universal joint on the steering column. If the steering of the car seems unusually heavy then that universal joint is a likely culprit.
The brakes of the various models of the Esprit are all conventional and excellent. The one area of likely problems is the handbrake mechanism. The handbrake system is difficult to access to maintain and the handbrake lever located on the floor by the scuttle may have been accidentally kicked or otherwise subjected to things that encourage breakage. Fixing a faulty handbrake is expensive because it is awkward to do. The standard of interior fittings of the Esprit began with the Series 1 being a bit shoddy.
Things progressively improved moving up towards the Series 4 cars which are the best of them all. When looking at an Esprit, as with inspecting any used car, the condition of the interior can be a good indicator of just how much care and attention the car has been treated to — or, conversely, how much casual abuse it has had. The interior is a good place to assess the electrics of the car you are looking at. Meticulously check every function ensuring that everything works as it should. Faulty electric windows are often caused by a failed switch.
Headlight pods can be subject to shorting because of water getting into the electrics. Inspection by a specialist or at least an automotive electrician is recommended. The chassis of the early cars was not galvanized so cars made before need to be checked for rust.
Post cars which have a galvanized chassis also need to be checked but they are much less likely to be problematical. That being said cars that have lived a happy life by the seaside or in areas where they have been exposed to salt are going to need to be as well checked as you can manage.
To check the chassis for potential corrosion get the car up on a hoist or on ramps and especially check the points where the bodyshell and chassis meet. Felt absorbs water nicely and wet felt encourages rust. The other factor that can cause chassis problems is accident damage. If a driver has managed to go sideways into a decent kerb then that can cause things to get bent, and that damage may not be apparent to the eye but will be detected by a competent specialist with the correct tools.
If a chassis has corrosion or damage the solution is to replace it with a new galvanized one. The Esprit was made in typical Lotus style with a fibreglass body. Fibreglass does not rust, but is not entirely trouble free. The early cars had their fibreglass body shells made in the usual way but from Lotus pioneered a manufacturing method called Vacuum Assisted Resin Injection VARI which enhanced the strength and durablity of the shell significantly.
The main potential problem area for the body is incompetently repaired accident damage. Look for unevenness in panels, cracks and splits are a dead giveaway. Body panels can be replaced and if you are looking at a ground-up re-build a complete body shell can be purchased to go with a nice new galvanized chassis. If you are buying a Lotus Esprit you are buying what can only be thought of as a junior supercar. It is more like buying a light aircraft than just buying a car and so you need to think in terms of it being a specialist performance car that requires specialist maintenance.
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