Sold 1979 Lotus Esprit JPS, 16k original miles, designed by Giugiaro

For sale is my 1979 Lotus Esprit JPS. 16,345 original miles, original paint, original interior, federal car # 007, Mario Andretti signed inside of the glove box, matching stamped window-glass all around, complete and mint tool kit. The car was built on 01/79 (1 of 50 for the US market, 1 of 150 for the world) to commemorate Mario's accomplishments in Formula 1. The car is located in San Francisco, California and is mint. It starts right up, drives really well, handles great on coastal Highway 1 and shifts smooth.
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

I am asking $54,000 for the mid engine, 1980 pound, fiberglass body car.

Detailed dropbox pictures are here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ez4scqr17ng6zcy/AACD0zOpfPO-aLYpNKUJVKo4a?dl=0

Pictures 16 onward are when the car was detailed. At the end of the dropbox files is a recent video driving the car from this past month.

Mechanics have been taken care of by a Factory Lotus Technician since my purchase in 2016.

Barry Spencer of Spencer Motor Sports. More about Barry here: http://www.spencersmotorsports.com/about.html Barry Spencer, founder and owner of Spencer's Motorsports, has been involved with Lotus cars since 1978. He is a factory - trained Lotus technician who worked in the engineering department on the Lotus Essex Turbo Esprit. He also worked on the Turbo Esprit shown in the James Bond movie " For Your Eyes Only ". In 1981, Barry worked as a Lotus Technician and service manager in the largest Lotus dealership in the United States. In 1984, Barry opened Spencer's European Motor Company in Hayward, CA which was renamed to Spencer's Motorsports in 1999.

I am happy to reply to emails, phone calls or private messages. Email is [email protected]

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Fantastic car and very difficult, if not impossible to find a JPS car in this condition. Best of luck with the sale, though I think this would do great at auction.

 

Wow! Beautiful.

 

do it.

 

Man... so tempting. I have a four British car limit at one time. Trying to insulate my wallet.

 

There is a guy over in Atlanta that has Andretti's that was given to him by the factory that year. I thought this was it at first. Andretti was here at Barber's a few years ago and he signed that one too.

 

Stunner!

 

Awesome.

 

Fantastic. I watched Mario win the Belgian GP in 1978, his championship year, in the fabulous JPS Lotus 79.

Do you know if Barry Spencer is related to the late Bev Spencer, San Francisco’s original Ferrari dealer?

 

I am not sure if there is a connection between Barry and Bev Spencer. I will ask Barry the next time we speak.

Thanks for many of the kind posts.

 

you can’t take it with you.

sometimes you just have the say “what the heck”

 

I am ... itching ... for a Lotus Esprit...

 

An older attorney I know said he had one of these new back in the day. I never realized how rare the JPS was.

 

Fantastic! How has maintenance been on it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I always wanted one.

I really did after that 5 seconds on screen in For Your Eyes Only. That burgundy color, skis on top and Turbo Esprit on the side did it for me at the age of 13 more than the little white submarine car a few years earlier.

I need to get one, play with it for a year and sell it just to get it out of my system. Problem for me now is I have no where to put it.

 

A friend of mine here in town has a JPS Europa #1. The first one built. That is one of those cars he is taking to the grave with him

 

well, he is still NOT going to take it with him....

 

What does JPS stand for, by the way? Non-Lotus people want to know.

 

John Player Special JPS

 

I think he is planning on being buried in it...

 

John Player's sponsorship of Team Lotus began with the Lotus 49 in Gold Leaf colours in the 1968 Tasman Series. It continued with the Lotus 49 and Lots 72 in Formula One, changed to the black and gold John Player Special colours in 1972, and ended in 1986 with the Lotus 98T.

John Player & Sons, most often known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. In 1901, the company merged with other companies to form The Imperial Tobacco Company to face competition from US manufacturers.

 

Oh, I forgot about that Burgundy one in For Your Eyes Only. The one that blew up. I also need to get it out of my system. I came within a few thousand dollars of buying one in 1988.

 

Have owned multiple Esprit Turbo's, this car is superb. Possibly the best of the line in terms of color and no turbo. Pure normal aspiration. Best of luck to sale and to the new owner. Hopefully an owner willing to maintain at the current standard!

 

Amazing....GLWS!

 

that's an awesome car. GLWS!