Reliability dogged the car throughout the year, and it was succeeded by the Type 115 Elise GT1 the next year. The type 910S engine was developed to an officially reported 286 hp, though actual output is unknown.


Non-SE fog lamps from about 1989 were GM Astra MK1. It also has wheel arches that turn into fins, a small periscope on the roof enabling 007 to navigate at speed underwater and its other weaponry includes a missile launched from its rear deck, mines, sprayed black … According to Italdesign, Chapman was disappointed with the wind-tunnel test results with the model and halted the project, but the Italian coachbuilder pressed on and built a full-size mock-up on a stretched, modified Europa chassis. The Silver Italdesign concept that eventually became the Esprit was unveiled at the Turin motor show in 1972, and was a development of a stretched Lotus Europa chassis. Project M71 Revival - V8 Giugiaro Lotus Esprit, James Bond's Iconic 1976 Lotus Esprit up for Sale, http://www.lotusespritworld.com/EOtherstuff/VARI.html, http://www.espritfactfile.com/Mod_Info.html#2004, https://automobile.fandom.com/wiki/Lotus_Esprit?oldid=69127, 349 bhp@6500 rpm/40.80 kgf.m@4250 rpm (V8). The Sport 300 was a derivative of the X180R sold in Europe. https://classiccars.fandom.com/wiki/Lotus_Esprit?oldid=69021. The Lotus Esprit is a sports car that was built by Lotus Cars at their Hethel factory in the United Kingdom between 1976 and 2004. Lotus used a variety of parts from other cars to reduce development costs.

[60] The S1 and S2 shared some front suspension components with the Opel Ascona. This method, which was patented by Lotus, offered advantages over the previous hand lay-up process. PBB Design built three cars before the moulds were sold to Mark Irwin's Esprit Developments, who updated the design and marketed it along with a Rover V8 conversion. [10] Lotus' production records are notoriously vague, but reliable estimates suggest that 149 Commemorative Esprit cars were made. Only 50 were made. [25] This revised engine was known as the Type 910S.

In 1993, the sanctioning body changed the rules such that the X180R was assessed a 136.1 kg (300 lb) weight penalty, which made the cars uncompetitive. [14] The Essex Turbo Esprit received the dry sump type 910 engine which has a power output of 213 PS (157 kW; 210 hp) at 6,250 rpm and 200 lb⋅ft (271 N⋅m) of torque at 4,500 rpm. UK) S2.2, the export S2.2, and the dry sump Turbo Esprit. The HCi variant added Bosch KE-Jetronic fuel injection and a catalytic converter to the higher compression engine.

We have created a browser extension. Kevlar reinforcement was added to the roof and sides for roll-over protection. Congratulations on this excellent venture… what a great idea! The S models were cancelled in 1991. The brakes were by AP Racing, and the car's Delco/Moraine ABS system was the first anti-lock braking system ever used on an Esprit. In 1978, the revised Series 2 (or S2) Esprit was introduced.
The transaxle used was the same Renault unit as before but upgraded by Lotus racing driver Derek Bell with a much thicker single piece input shaft. [57][58] Esprits built before 1993 used many British Leyland parts and those built in the mid-to-late 1980s incorporated more Toyota parts while those built after 1993 had many GM (Vauxhall, Opel) parts. Changes to the bodywork included a new carbon fibre splitter, diffuser and floor. [11], The S2.2 was a stop-gap model introduced in May 1980 whose only major difference from the S2 was, as indicated in its model name, having a 2.2 L type 912 engine. Esprit Developments completed another three cars. The second, Project M70, meant to develop a successor to the Europa which, like the Europa, was to be a two-door fixed-head mid-engine coupé. In 1991 driver/actor Robert Carradine placed second in the series and in 1992, Bundy won three races and took the driver's title. A unique two-litre "tax special" Esprit with SE trim was developed for the Italian market. These performance improvements were coupled to a redesign and strengthening of the chassis and rear suspension, where an upper link was added to alleviate strain on the driveshafts, along with brake improvements. Realizing that the submersible Esprit had proven popular in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), the production team once again selected one of Lotus' vehicles for use in For Your Eyes Only (1981) - the Lotus Esprit S3 Turbo. [47] A total of 10,675 Esprits were produced. Lotus final assembly Lotus Cars Limited is a British automotive company headquartered in Norfolk, England.

The S4 was the first Esprit to use a power steering. [3], Work began on the new car in mid-1971 with production of a 1:4 scale model. In 1996, Lotus launched the Esprit V8. It was among the first of designer Giorgetto Giugiaro's polygonal "folded paper" designs. That nameless prototype, often simply called "the Silver Car", appeared on the Italdesign stand at the 1972 Turin Auto Show and the positive reception convinced Chapman to approve further development. Classic Cars Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Externally, the Turbo Esprit retained the full aerodynamic body kit of the Essex cars, featured prominent 'turbo esprit' decals on the nose and sides and was supplied with 15" BBS alloy wheels. The Esprit is a sports car marketed by Lotus in the 1970s-1990s. Steering was by an unassisted rack and pinion. The Lotus Esprit S1 featured in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) was fondly referred to by production staff as 'Wet Nellie' - a tribute to Bond's autogyro, 'Little Nellie' from You Only Live Twice. Their production continued through to the autumn of 1987 when the old design was discontinued and a new-style, the more rounded X180 model, took over. The Turbo Esprit had a wet sump engine with the same power and torque output as its dry sump predecessor. According to Lotus only 88 were produced during its thirteen-month production span.[13].

Classic Car Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. This car was to be the end of the line for the Esprit but a cancelled project for a front engine car had left Lotus with a compact V8 and no car to put it into.

In 2014, those plans were canceled. [44] The front suspension was now upper and lower A-arms, while at the rear were upper and lower lateral links paired with upper and lower trailing links. Both cars came with 381 mm (15 in) BBS alloy wheels. This engine had the same peak power as the carburetted version but at a somewhat higher engine speed. The Series 3 (or S3) and Turbo Esprit debuted in April 1981. [34] Engine output rose to 305 PS (224 kW; 301 hp) and 393 N⋅m (290 lb⋅ft) of torque. The S1 is rare in the present day, mostly due to drivetrain problems.[8]. While Lotus Cars never developed or built a convertible Esprit, custom manufacturers stepped in to fill this market. m) of torque. You could also do it yourself at any point in time. The chassis of the road-going X180R was also galvanized, in contrast to the untreated chassis of the Type 105. [26] The 910S engine went into the new Special Equipment (SE) model, which also received changes to the body, with side skirts parallel to the body, five air ducts in the front air dam, wing mirrors from the Citroën CX and the addition of a rear wing. [citation needed] The special road-going 1991 model year X180Rs were only sold within the United States. Both cars had revised interiors and similar performance but the SE was the more luxurious of the two. https://classic-car.fandom.com/wiki/Lotus_Esprit?oldid=9201. The exterior style changes were accompanied by a freshening of the interior, allowing a little more space for the occupants. The half-shafts had no provision for plunge and handled some of the lateral forces. [30] These are known as the fastest of the four-cylinder Esprits and among the most desirable with only 50 cars produced. The new cars were designated Type 106, but adopted the X180R name as well.

Another promotional still of Roger Moore with the Esprit Turbo. [19] This engine became available in other markets beginning in the fall of 1996. m). The A-pillar and the chassis were reinforced with steel, and a steel subframe was added in the rear.[51]. The design exhibited had a length of 4,550 mm (179 in), a width of 1,950 mm (77 in) and a height of 1,250 mm (49 in). Again the Esprit continued to keep a small or nonexistent gap between itself and competition from rivals such as Ferrari and Porsche. [52], As part of a five-car announcement at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, Lotus unveiled a completely redesigned Esprit, with production slated to start in late 2013 and sales in the spring of 2014.[53]. [7], The S1 Esprit was distinguished from later Esprits by its shovel-style front air dam, Fiat X1/9-sourced taillights, absence of body-side ducting, and Wolfrace alloy wheels. 45 Essex Turbo Esprit cars were built, interspersed and followed by a number of non-Essex-liveried but otherwise identical specification dry sump turbo cars. The Lotus Turbo Esprit (pronounced "es-pree") is a sports car that was built by Lotus in the United Kingdom.