Lotus Esprit

Lotus Esprit at a glance

Origins: Giugiaro's wedge

Work on the car began in mid-1971 with a 1:4 scale model. Italdesign then built a full-size mock-up on a Lotus Europa base, project M70 according to Car & Classic, and showed it at the Turin show in 1972. Colin Spooner developed the production body, which had a drag coefficient of 0.36. Lotus launched the Esprit at the Paris Motor Show in October 1975 and started production in 1976.

The first car, the S1, used the Lotus 907 engine: an all-aluminium 1,973 cc four-cylinder with two overhead camshafts and 16 valves, the same unit fitted to the Jensen-Healey from 1972. It gave 119 kW (160 hp) in Europe and 104 kW (140 hp) in the US. A five-speed Citroën transaxle, also found in the Citroën SM and the Maserati Merak, sent the power to the rear wheels. Lotus claimed 222 km/h, but road tests reached about 214 km/h. The S1 weighed under 1,000 kg according to Wikipedia EN, 1,010 kg according to Wikipedia DE.

Turbo power and the Bond cars

The S2 of 1978 and the 2.2-litre S2.2 of 1980 refined the formula, and in 1980 Lotus showed the Turbo Esprit at Geneva. The first 45 cars were the Essex Turbo with a dry-sump 2.2-litre engine of 157 kW (210 hp) and a top speed of 241 km/h. According to Car & Classic, the chassis was galvanised from 1980, which makes the earliest cars the riskier buy today. The S3 and the Turbo were built side by side until 1987; Wikipedia EN's table counts 732 S3s and 2,909 Turbos. The 1987 Turbo HC raised output to 160 kW (218 PS) and 298 Nm.

Film work made the Esprit famous. In The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) an S1 turned into a submarine; the underwater car, nicknamed "Wet Nellie", was bought by Elon Musk in September 2013. Two Turbo Esprits in Essex specification followed in For Your Eyes Only (1981). Later, an X180 Esprit SE appeared in Pretty Woman and another X180 in Basic Instinct.

The Stevens cars: X180, SE, S4 and Sport 300

In 1987 Peter Stevens redesigned the body with softer lines; the car is known by its project code X180. Lotus switched to a Renault transaxle at the same time; Wikipedia DE names it as the gearbox of the Renault 25. The Esprit SE of 1989 had 197 kW (268 PS) and 354 Nm, and Wikipedia DE gives 5.0 seconds from 0 to 100 km/h and 256 km/h.

The X180R of 1990–1991 was built 20 times for the road and five times for racing; in the US it cost US$126,000 in 1990. The Sport 300 of 1993 had 225 kW (306 PS), and only 64 were made. The S4 followed in 1993, and the S4s of 1994–1997 offered 224 kW (305 PS), 393 Nm and 270 km/h. The GT3 of 1996–1999 had 179 kW (243 PS); 190 were built. Car & Classic notes that later cars gained ABS and suggests these Stevens-era four-cylinder cars as the best first Esprit.

The V8 years, 1996–2004

In 1996 Lotus fitted its own engine, the Type 918: a 3,506 cc V8 with two turbochargers and 32 valves. It produced 260 kW (354 PS) and 400 Nm at a boost of 0.75 bar, without an intercooler. Wikipedia EN notes that the engine was capable of about 373 kW (500 hp) but was rated at 261 kW (350 hp) in the Esprit. Wikipedia DE gives a 0–100 km/h time of 4.7 seconds and a Hockenheim lap of 1 minute 17.9 seconds; Wikipedia EN gives a top speed of 280 km/h.

The V8 GT of 1997–2001 was the simpler version, with 204 made. The Sport 350 of 1999–2001 weighed 1,300 kg and lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 8 minutes 13 seconds. Wikipedia DE gives it 4.4 seconds to 100 km/h in its text and 4.6 seconds in its table. Wikipedia EN gives 50 cars in its text and 42 in its table. The racing GT1 of 1995, of which three were built, had 409 kW (549 hp) and weighed 900 kg.

Production for Europe ended in 2002, and the last Esprit was built on 20 February 2004. A new Esprit with a 5.0-litre Lexus V8 of up to 456 kW (620 PS) appeared at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. Lotus cancelled it on 29 September 2014. Wikipedia DE regards the Lotus Evora of 2009 as the successor.

Esprit versions and figures

Power grew by about 142 kW, or 119 percent, from the European S1 to the Sport 350. Turbocharging alone took the four-cylinder from 119 kW in the S1 to 225 kW in the Sport 300 without adding a cylinder. The power converter shows the same figures in PS or hp.

Weight, drive and ownership

Every Esprit kept the same basic layout: the engine behind the cabin, a steel backbone chassis under a fibreglass body and drive to the rear wheels. The weight-to-power ratio shows how far the car moved. Using Wikipedia DE's weights, the S1 carried about 8.5 kg per kW and the 1981 Turbo about 8.8 kg per kW, because it was much heavier. The S4 brought this down to 6.8 kg per kW, and the Sport 350 to about 5.0 kg per kW.

Car & Classic sees the Stevens cars as more mature. They gained updated suspension, stiffer bodywork and a better cabin. Its buying advice follows the three eras. Cars built before 1980 lack the galvanised chassis, parts supply differs from one era to the next, and the V8 is the most complex car to run, with costs that depend on the engine family.

Photo gallery