I want to graciously ask any Houston owners to pm me as I would rather be discreet for the time being. Thanks, Gregg
Since there has been some interest in viewing I should just go ahead and disclose what I want to ask. As another huge fan of Lotus for many decades I'm hoping that I can meet a Houston owner and get a ride in one. This forum and its members have been very good to me over the years with drives and rides so I am hoping this trend can continue. Thanks for listening and Merry Christmas to all, Gregg
Jason, I4 is in reference to the turbocharged inline 4 banger, I'm a sucker for boosted 4's. As I mentioned previously there is no better group of owners than those on this website who graciously continue to share their cars with those of us who love them just as much but have not been able to afford such amazing cars and discretion is something I adhere too. Sorry for the confusion, Gregg
hope you do man.......i never driven a turbo series epsrit, but rode in a late model v8 model.....amazing car (car lust!) strangely, one of my dream ownerships, is a S1 lookalike of the white bond car, but with the late model chassis/drivetrain
That would be cool. I've always liked the Esprit - especially the Giugiaro S3 Turbos and the Julian Thompson S4 models.
here's a great link for esprit models http://www.lotusespritworld.com/models.html on the subject of building an esprit, if i 'really' wanted a v8 s2 esprit (which i do)...i'd build it with a compact and light DFV engine, that'd be kool and fitting Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
DFV would be cool, but track only! Now if you go on YouTube, there's a video of the Lotus Elise GT-1 that's running the Lotus engineered LT5 from the ZR1. One big difference is they fitted a flat plane crank so it sounds more Ferrari than Corvette. The Esprit has a huge back area - removing the trunk space, you could fit a big lump in there. One YouTube video shows a BMW V12 (!!!) in a Turbo Esprit! I'm looking for something that would be a little "easier". There's a guy that makes a kit for the LS1 into a Fiero, and the Fiero is smaller, so I know it can be done for the Esprit. Going to give that guy a call if I make the deal for one (I am looking at a car next week...a bit of a wreck). Either that or I would consider the S4S Turbo 4-cyl from a wrecked model. Of course, I still need the $$ and the car to do it!
it would be $$ but IMO the lighter weight of an S2 esprit + the lightweight DFV with some modern fuel injection, would be perfectly streetable sure a big LS engine would fit, and more power too, but somehow the DFV in an S2 = ideal simple early esprit to me like building my own "what if lotus built?" edition
DFV is no slouch in the horsepower department - that's for sure. It would defintely be cool...no doubt. As you noted - big bucks too! Then again, the Lotus 910 engine isn't "cheap"!
Seems turbocharging one of the Toyota engines in the Elise would be a good idea. Keeps it a four banger and uses an engine from another Lotus plus it'd be turbocharged like the original from S3 on.
Gregg, Ahh, I see... I am a little behind the times so didn't understand your question. I'm in Texas many times a year and go to Galveston regularly. I usually trailer a car down behind my wife's SUV so I can sport around with the DFW crowd. I will PM you next time in town and you are welcome to take it for a spin. Or if your in Denver you can choose between a 78 S2, 85 Turbo Esprit or 90 SE for a get out of jail free card ;-) J/K I am truly in love with the Esprit.
Carefull now as I just might take you up on that lol!!! Aswell you will always be welcome at my house if your road weary on your way to the island.
Not to mention the cost of a running DFV or heck even a non-running example but a cool idea though. I guess I'll ask around in the TX forum as I know there are quite a few Esprits in Houston that attend our local C&C meetings. Have a great day everyone and thanks, Gregg
