Why not Lotus ?

Thanks for the info David.

 

Thats absolutely correct about Jensen. Colin Chapman used Jensen as a test bed for the 9xx engines and they suffered for it. The early engine block flexed too much and cracked. By the time they went into the Esprit most of the problems had been fixed though.

 

But thats the Peter Stevens redesign of the original Guigaro. The original is much better IMHO.

 

Ah, I stand corrected regarding the engine that powered the Jensen, I always assumed it was the Kent/Cosworth Elan engine. Thanks for clarification, I didn't know where the Esprit engine came from. Too bad Lotus made the foray into engine building, really unnecessary. I thought the selection of the Toyota engine for the Elise was pure genius: allay the fears of reliability by aligning with the most bulletproof reputation in all of auto-dom.

 

It was the 907 not 901... just keeping this accurate


And this engine was developed in the Jenson cars and this really hurt jenson as it took a while to get the engine right and by then the Jenson reputation was tarnished....and once the engine was improved Lotus put it in the Espirt...it is a robust engine without much torque but very pleasing , gets the job done, and is inexpensive to own and maintain.... I would put it in the category of "bulletproof"

beev

 

Beautiful car...there is a Model year 2000 to the car in your picture sitting in the Toronto Gentry Lance Lotus of Ontario dealership Brand New and never driven.... if someone wants a time capsule car.

beev

 

13 years!!!

beev

 

What can I say? I adore the 907 engine. I like the sound, the feel, its distinct rumble, its 7k RPM redline. Clearly a 4-cylinder -- not a V12 or a flat crank V8 -- but with an enticing sound all its own.

And as mentioned earlier, when looked after, it really is a tough engine. The bottom end is seriously strong, and you can run it literally all day at 4000 rpm with no valve bounce or float. It only gets better when you wind it up and run it hard.

I never minded the build quality of the Esprit -- or any Lotus. When you construct a car that weighs 2/3 of what other cars with similar dimensions weigh, it won't feel like a bank vault. When you shed that much weight, there has to be a trade-off somewhere. I just see the Esprit (or any Lotus) as having its place in the overall arena of different methods and virtues of body construction. What are you in the mood for--solid precision, or light weight?

I always appreciated the clever yet simple engineering brilliance of any Lotus, and the adaptation for road use of principles derived from race cars. It might mean that some things are higher maintenance, but again, that's what it takes (or what it took for whatever era the Lotus was designed) to achieve that degree lightness and handling. It's the real thing, and some experiences you just can't achieve any other way.

I like the ethos of the people who make up Lotus and the culture of Lotus owners. I have been fortunate to meet many of the people who designed and engineered the Esprit, and in addition to being brilliant engineers, they all share that "can do" attitude, creativity and ingenuity that enabled Lotus to accomplish so much with such limited resources. Chapman wasn't the only genius -- he assembled an incredible team. As for Lotus owners --to build on the point made by someone earlier in this thread about being serious enthusiasts -- you have a higher percentage of people who appreciate the car for the drive and fewer for image and status. . . . makes for a lot more fun group of people to be around.

And then there is the design. The Esprit is my favorite, of course. Giugiaro penned some of the automotive world's all time classics, and this is one of his best, nothing short of iconic. Happy driving, everyone!
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Why?

As has already been said, the 907 engine was well sorted by the time it went into the Esprit and by the time the 912 and then the turbo came out was rock solid. The implementation of the turbo was well done, with very little lag.
OK it was difficult to work on. The only real bug it had was the exhaust manifold and wastegate adaptor were prone to deterioration and cracking but this was rectified in later versions with a fabricated manifold instead of cast.

 

David,
I have a '98 TT V8 that underwent the full package transformation about three years ago. Mark with Sphere Motorsports in Houston took the engine out of the car, crated it up and sent it to Autobahn Exotics in Carrollton, TX for a total tear down and rebuild by a very well known Lotus expert. The engine was then crated up and sent back to Mark to reinstall into the car. The car is currently chipped to 450 bhp and runs like crazy, handles well, and is a blast to drive. It also has had all of the modifications to look like a 2002-2003 model including rear lights, central dual exhaust with "cheese grater", and wheels. The interior bits were also upgraded and a new Raid steering wheel was installed. Overall an awesome car, but I am planning to sell it. If you know or hear of anyone that might be interested please let them know there is a well sorted high horsepower car out there. Enjoy your ride when you get it back.