If you weren’t around when the Peter-Stevens-designed Esprit Turbo landed in 1987, you won’t know what a splash it made. There’d been Lotus Esprits before it, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, and very good looking they were, too, but the Stevens car had even more presence and a timeless, aero-inspired look that, 30 years later, has lost none of its freshness and appeal.
A past neighbour of mine had a brand-new Turbo in Calypso Red with cream leather. In the quiet market town where I lived, its arrival was front page news, at least in our local rag’s motoring section. Put one on your driveway today and it’s likely to provoke the same reaction, at least among the neighbours. And if they laugh up their sleeves about the car’s modest 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo engine, you can always bring the Porsche 718’s 2.0-litre four-pot into the conversation…
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Mechanically, the 1987 Esprit Turbo was largely unchanged from the previous-generation model, with the exception of the rear brakes that were now outboard and the adoption of a Renault five-speed transaxle. The fit and finish of the glassfibre body were improved by a new resin injection process. At the same time, the interior, handling and performance were brought up to date.
For the record, the Type 910 engine, force fed by a Garrett T3 turbo and with Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection, produced 215bhp, a figure that may have declined somewhat if you stick a leggy Turbo on a rolling road today. It was good for 0-62mph in 5.3sec (the car weighs only 1270kg) but an uprated version called the Turbo SE arrived in 1989. Thanks to an intercooler and a new multi-point fuel injection system, it produced a more impressive 264bhp for 0-62mph in 4.9sec. You can tell the model by its large rear wing.
This standard Turbo continued until 1991. The Sport 300 of 1993, a stripped-out version with 302bhp and beefed-up spoilers and wheel arches, was the Esprit Turbo’s last hurrah before the arrival of the Esprit S4. Only around 50 Sport 300s were made and they’re sought after today.
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Great article... No V8?
Nice to see the Esprit being promoted for a change.
No mention of the V8 in this article though? Updated chassis, better gearbox internals, and two turbos on a V8 in the 90s!How long did it take the rest of the industry to catch up I wonder? A certain McLaren and Ferrari have only just recently joined the party!
It's a bit a of a forgotten icon these days, in an era when manuals are being praised, and the pure un-assisted driving experience is something people seem to lust for and even pay extra for, the Esprit offers it all, and doesn't break the bank!
Yes, of course, I own one. :)
Lotus Esprit V8 vs Ferrari 355 V8
3.5 Litre twin turbo
POWER: 350hp
TORQUE: 295 lb-ft
FERRARI 355 V8:
3.5 Litre Normally Aspirated
POWER: 375hp
TORQUE: 268 lb-ft
Ferrari were making more power, from the same displacement, without the aid of turbo's - They simply didn't need them!
The 355 V8 is rated as one of the greatest engines Ferrari have ever made, with an unbelievable scream when it's revving out. As good as the Lotus V8 was, it doesn't even compare to the Ferrari's for character and driveability.
And today, Ferrari have gone to turbo engines due to ever tightening emmision regulations, and the need for massive amounts of power (and their turbo engines continue to amaze testers, by having pretty much zero turbo lag, from any speed, in any gear, and being incredibly flexible)
I totally agree with the
I totally agree with the article.
I have travelled many thousands of joyful miles in a Turbo SE, and I would be a total sucker for an S4S or GT3 if I found myself in front of an imaculate one now.
I have one !
Always my dream car when I was a young man, aquired an S4S a couple of years ago in mica yellow with green leather, paid miles too much for it and have spent a lot making it work properly, so i'm stuck with it for the rest of my days ! However as old cars go its quite a nice machine, but not a patch on, for example my Porsche 968CS from the same era, in terms of build quality, drivability, or durability, but it does look wonderful and it drives very nicely, although not exceptionally. One of the things that comforted me during making the buying phase was that in my home town is Max500 Ltd, Max was chief tec at Bell and Colvil for many years, then started an independent Lotus service garage, Lakeside Engineering with a partner, and is now on his own in Max500 Ltd. He drove and maintained the famed Top Gear Esprit V8 in Argentina and is these days the chief tec looking after all the cars on the filming of "The Grand Tour", so a very, very useful man to know ! Max has spent a lot of time getting the standard fit and absolutely awful ABS braking system working as well as it ever can and getting the car running really well. My old Porsche 968 has done hundreds of Nurburgring laps and hundreds of track days, my impression is the Esprit would be struggling to do one, such is the frailty of its design, the Renault transaxle isn't really up to the job, the brakes despite being Brembo calipers are ruined by the woeful ABS, the engine by todays standards is pretty poor, although impressive in its time it hasn't aged well. I use the car very sparingly and very sympathetically even though Max assures me they are fundementally robust ( they just don't feel it ? ). The other major factor that is always in the back of my mind is the total lack of heritage parts back up for these cars, Lotus aren't like Porsche. For what I've spent, I could have bought a very nice Porsche 993 Carrera 2, and added a few subtle well known improvements and had a completely usable reliable car that would have taken to the track as often as I wanted with complete ease, and driven all over Europe with no question marks over reliability. So my advice is think very hard before being mesmorised by the Esprit's beauty .
A good review, interesting
Regarding the Porsche equivalent, I too would expect them to be more or less bullet proof and daily drive capable as I had an 83 924 which was just that, much like your 968, so I'd imagine their equivalent 911 flagship sports car to be even better and more capable.