Ah…. The Lotus Esprit. The quintessential poster car of the 70s and 80s. The beautiful wedge shape straight out of Italdesign Giugiaro, a singing 4 cylinder engine and gorgeously sweet handling all contributed to one hell of a stunner in the name of a car. Now, we will talk about the first gen esprit, and not the Peter Stevens redesign. That will be a future post, so do expect that. But for now, just stop what you are doing and look at the picture above. Let your passionate eyes savour the beautiful lines of the Esprit.
The Esprit was a beauty that was produced from 1976 to 2005. The first gen cars stretched from 1976 to 1987 and this included the S1, the S2 and the S3 Esprits. The Esprit was an exotic sports car, that at the time of its release at the Paris auto show, recieved critical acclaim for its handling . Seriously, this car had only 4 cylinders, but it took on and nibbled at the heels of even supercars of that era, simply because the handling was so much better. And the fact that it had a pretty low curb weight (A little more than a ton.)
The car came with a fibreglass body and an extremely robust steel backbone chassis. This earned it the reputation of “A British car that never rusts”. Not bad at all. The wedge shape gave the car an extremely distinct look that could stand out from anything.
That was the car’s beautiful interior. It did kinda lose a bit of its charm in the S4 iteration, but over here, it suits the Esprit just right. It looks like a gentleman’s club in there. Its covered in leather and some cars came with a sunroof, which added to the charm more. But the seats can be cramped for people over 6 feet tall.(Remember the Heartbreaking scene from Wheeler dealers, anyone?) But some people have solved this problem by completely unbolting the seats and making hopes in the chassis, a bit behind to accommodate more leg room.the car is more than simply a track toy, however. Its also a GT that can he used for long road trips, where there is an indelible smile etched onto your face as you savour the lovely 4 cylinder engine.
Oh, speaking of which, the Lotus Esprit had an inline 4 engine which was not bad at all. The S1 had a 2 litre one producing 160 horses, could go from 0 to 62 in 6.8 to 8 seconds and top out at 138 mph. The S2s had the option of a 2.2l i4 which produced higher torque figures. The S2 was supposed to rectify all the faults and issues of the S1, but it still remains kind of an awkward step up between the beautiful S1 and the much better S3. The S3 had the option to turbocharge the 2.2l i4. The result was 215 hp in contrast to the 172 hp of the normally aspirated Esprit. But the N/A Esprit retained a certain charm that the turbo one did not. The N/A esprits had a much cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing bodywork, the normally aspirated 4 cylinder was pretty free revving in nature and made a more distinct and sweeter sound, and of course was much more reliable. The turbos did develop a reputation for unreliability and fragility simply due to the complexity of the engine and the not-so-strong Citroen transmission.(surprising of a car from that era). But what this means is that demand of the normally aspirated Esprit is strong and the prices in the 2nd hand market have really gone up over the years. Shame, really. They used to be pretty affordable to buy. But still, there is no denying that the Lotus Esprit is an icon that will forever be remembered for its looks, effortless charm and its amazing ability to put a massive grin on your face, just by looking at it.
– Abhyjith. K. Ashokan
Flamboyance GT 