Has anyone ever owned a Lotus Esprit?

The newer interior is FAR nicer than the 97 and back IMO. You spend most of your time inside the car, so to me it would be worth spending the extra money for the newer interior.

In most comparisons I have read the NSX wins over the esprit, but as far as speed and easy mods, the esprit is the hands down winner.

I wish they would put that 350HP v8 TT into the NSX

 

In what areas does the NSX win other than maybe build quality and reliablity?

Luke.

 

Jeremy,

I highly recommend you contact Chris Constantin at Lotus Atlanta. He is very nice and very competent.

his email is [email protected]
their website is http://www.lotusofatlanta.com/

Luke.

 

You are correct, it seems most Lotus and Ferrari owners get along...actually, both these groups tend to get along well with any car enthusiast. I actually know a couple of Esprit V8 owners that have both the Esprit and 355s. Ideally my garage would have an Esprit, Ferrari and Diablo in it with each one serving a different purpose.

 

Agree, the fresh interior looks much nicer than mine.

 

Oh yes, there is one other thing I must mention about Lotus that I have not seen any other car company do. Factory support. Lotus USA actually has a couple of people that monitor and respond on the turboesprit yahoogroups mailing list. They have gone as far as taking member suggestions to the head of Lotus USA as well as even taking the suggestion back to headquarters.

I have experienced this for myself. When I was performing due diligence on my car I called Lotus USA (located in Georgia FYI) to see if they could provide more information about my car based on VIN. They faxed me what history they had (everything performed under warranty) as well as a copy of the original window sticker.

 

great thread.......................

 

Great thread so far. I bought an 88 Esprit (4 cyl) a few years back and loved it so much, I upgraded to the V8 about 3 years ago.

I travel constantly for work, and sometimes on the road I think about selling the Esprit since I never get to drive it. But, I get home on the weekends and take it for a long drive and realize why I just can't get rid of it. When originally shopping for the 88, I compared against the NSX and the 308, and after driving all three, it was easy for me to make my choice. Again, when considering the V8, I drove the 348, because like most you, I always have wanted a Ferrari. There was just something with the Lotus, again. I think maybe it's more "raw". I'm not sure exactly, but I really like it. (still, one of these days, I will have a Ferrari to join the Lotus)

Anyway, I guess the point is, as most people have shared - test drive as much as you can. If you find yourself in Dallas, you're more than welcome to try out my Esprit.

As for the prices, consider that only very minor differences occured to the V8's over the last couple of years, beside the interior change. It would be a lot cheaper to pick up the 97 and upgrade to the AP brakes and ECU, unless you are talking about the final run of Esprit's with the adjustable suspension and a few other goodies. Otherwise, it's pretty much the same car.

Enjoy whatever you get - you can't really go wrong!

-sean

 

What about crashworthiness?? Is the frame just a 'I' frame. I saw a pic of one that looks like it was T-boned in the driver area. Pic was blurred but looked like all fiberglass? I realize there is a kevlar safety shell around the cockpit, but how safe is that in the real world??
Granted none of the the cars dicussed in this thread will win high honors in those insurance institute crash tests. O.k discuss...

 

The last set of ~40 Esprit's (being finished up now or very soon) have a new adjustable shock package and air pressure monitors. Apparently, these are retrofittable, like the newer brakes, wheels, taillights, valence, etc.

As for the crashworthiness, I remember reading about the fibreglass doing well in a collision because of the ability to absorb the energy of a crash. The frame is a steel backbone, and in the doors are large metal cross braces.

 

I had some seat time in and S4S. On boost its a real blast. There was a lot more turbo lag then I expected. BUT I had been driving a Corvette zr-1 right before jumping in the lotus. Where the vette was an "the driver is along for the ride" the lotus is very "yippieeeeee." It felt very direct and in control. Definately an involved driving experience.

 

How well do they perform at the track? How fast, or comparable to other cars are they?

TXesprit - in the future, I might meet up with you in a TX or N. Texas meet to check it out.

 

I heard from a dealer to avoid the '97 cars. Lots of little nagging problems with electrics and such which is why they are so much cheaper than the '98 and later cars.

This would fall under the same rule of thumb for just about any new model production car. Always avoid the first year.

 

Keep in mind that there were 1996 V8's. They just never made it to the US.

 

Any particular colors you're looking at?

Here's a couple that have caught my eye:
http://www.huntingridgemotors.com/cars.php?cat=lotus&carid=195&subcat=

Check out the rest of their cars as well...they also have several others and also a 95 355 GTS

Steve Harris www.ferrarinetwork.com also has a 2000 Esprit V8 in Titanium that looks really good...it's under the "Pre-Owned Other" section.

 

Has anyone ever been to hunting ridge motors? Its pretty close to me, and ive been meaning to check it out.

 

How well do they perform at the track? How fast, or comparable to other cars are they?

http://www.lotusespritworld.co.uk/roadtests.html

Craig

 

I've never been there, but I did meet one of the owners. He might be on this forum, I know he's on the Lotus list as he has (possibly had at this point) an V8 and a 355.

 

Hey Schatten - I make it to some of the events up here, so I'm sure we'll meet up. Tomorrow is the Exotic Car Nights which I am hoping to make.

About the 97's having problems, there were two main things that distinguished them. 1) The original clutch was crap, and all were recalled and replaced and documented by Lotus Cars US. 2) The spark plug wells don't have drainage holes, so you have to be somewhat careful in heeavy rains, car washing. It's not a big deal, but 98- up cars have little holes in the wells to help. As far as electrical problems, they might be referring to the fact the the alternators seem to go after about 3 years, but that is not year specific. I'm not aware of any other electrical problems (and I've had none other than the alternator - knock on wood).

Most other changes through the years were cosmetic, except the revised torque-mapping for the ECUs in the 2000+ cars, although there is still an even different ECU available (as well as "Race" ECU) for all V8's. Also, the brakes were upgraded in 2000 to AP, although my Brembo's have done great with the Proterfield pads.

I've had mine on the track a few times, and it is an absolute blast. My friend/instructor is a former 2-time F2000 national champ, and his comments were "this is the most well balanced road car I have ever driven". I don't who was having more fun - me or him. The V8 is much easier to control than the 4-cyl, and you really fall in love with the torque and low-end acceleration.