Lotus Esprit S1

[Ant]

Today we have the original Esprit. It was design by Giorgietto Giugiaro from Italdesign. It's still one of the most recognizable cars with its distinctive "wedge shape". Its engine wasn't all that powerful but it handled extremely well. Oh, and it was featured in The Spy Who Loved Me as a underwater-capable car.

Engine: Lotus 907 I4
Displacement: 1,973 cc
Aspiration: Natural
Power: 160 bhp (119 kW) @ 6,200 rpm
Torque: 140 lb·ft @ 4,900 rpm
Configuration: Mid-engined, RWD
Weight: 898 kilo (1,979.8 lbs)
0 - 60 mph: 8.6 seconds
Top speed: 135 mph (217 km/h)
Underwater capabilities: Not available unless you're James Bond

[159john]

Lovely car; true icon

[srb71]

LOTUS= Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious

Still the Esprit was a good looking car but then I am very biased towards Giugiaro, the man's a true genius.

[john147]

i would love to own one there is one on my delivery neva seen it come out the garage

[symon]

Cool.

I prefer the looks of the later versions though.

Probably the last cool British car?

Originally Posted by srb71

LOTUS= Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious

Still the Esprit was a good looking car but then I am very biased towards Giugiaro, the man's a true genius.

i was going to say that

cool car

[GhostyDog]

Dont like it

[Gaz]

Originally Posted by symonh

Cool.

I prefer the looks of the later versions though.

+1 to that

[FredDibnah]

Cool.

It's even a bit cooler to me than just it's looks - because it was sooooo badly made.

My brother owned a half decent used one back in the early 90s and it suffered a fault with the electric windows. One weekend we took the inner door panel off and discovered that the entire workings for the window (lifters, motor drive, controls etc) were grub screwed into a thin sheet of not-very-thick cardboard which was then taped (yes- taped!!) to the door frame. Needless to say that water had dripped down the glass onto the cardboard, softended it and the screws had worked themselves out of the damp cardboard and couldn't get any purchase when the window was used..... When we took it down to Bell & Colville Lotus specialists to get the original materials to put the door workings back together again, we were told that this was in fact standard factory fit!!! We thought it was a bodge up from a previous owner......

How cool is that!

a cool car, however when you look closely at it you realise you are looking at parts from various 70's and 80's BL cars

Door handles are from either an Allegro or Marina
Interior door handles are from a Maxi
Switches are from 70 BL tripe
Indicators and wiper switches are from a Mini

all of this just cheapened the car a little for me.....

Lovely to look at and the 2.0 16V twin cam engine is a classic as well, but again that was developed in conjunction with another car manufacurer

[Prof Peach]

The plastic attachment that was Roger Moore spoils my thoughts on this car.

Much later down the line... the S4.... now theres a cool looking car.

[BIDET FITZAKAZI]

Never liked it, about the only Lotus apart from the New Evora i dont like.

[Prof Peach]

Now this IS cool. Looks like a car from Wacky Races. I give you.....The 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo.






Or what about this 68 Alfa Romeo Stradale P33 Pininfarina Roadster?

[symon]

Originally Posted by Nev

Probably the last cool British car?

Apart from a few TVR's

Originally Posted by symonh

Apart from a few TVR's

Nah. TVRs are for a special type of person but not necessarily a cool one.

[symon]

Originally Posted by Nev

Nah. TVRs are for a special type of person but not necessarily a cool one.

[73GTVJim]

I'm not wild about it myself but I reckon it is just about cool, especially now it is pretty old, a rare sight and as with any older Lotus must be a bit of a labour of love.

I drove a mate's S2 years back when I had a Chevette HS and it felt as wide as a bus and surprisingly quite slow.

Still, it looks good even today in a wedgie, dated way.

[Mike69]

[QUOTE=jay w;2683440]a cool car, however when you look closely at it you realise you are looking at parts from various 70's and 80's BL cars

Door handles are from either an Allegro or Marina
Interior door handles are from a Maxi
Switches are from 70 BL tripe
Indicators and wiper switches are from a Mini

all of this just cheapened the car a little for me.....

Agreed, but all of this makes the car even cooler to me. All those handicaps, and it still looks good today!

[steveisfrowning]

saw an esprit s1 recently in Darlington, just pootling along - young lad driving it

It was in a Bonf film, it's old but not a beardy car. It's cool, but not sub-zero.

[David Jarrett]

A beautiful uncompromised shape...

Oh you mean the Lotus , not Barbara Bach?

Thats good too.

[BigFoot]

Not my cup of tea.

[AdGTA]

If i thought i could get in and out of it without throwing my back out,i'd have one in an instant. I'm a fan of the wedge. On looks and sound alone it's very cool. My favourite Lotus is probably the jps Europa.

[Ronald]

Cool


I'd have one yesterday!