Lotus Esprit

The Esprit Designs

Throughout its 28 year history there were many variations of the Lotus Esprit but all of them can be grouped into two design groups.

The first category is what is commonly referred to as the Giugiaro Esprit; named after the original Italian designer of the car, Giorgetto Giugiaro. The easiest way to identify those cars is if the car was built before 1988 MY (model year) then it is a Giugiaro Esprit. Styling-wise, the Giugiaro Esprit is distinguished by sharp angles and a wedge shape.

In 1988, designer Peter Stevens who is also famous for designing the McLaren F1 supercar softened the crisp edges of the Esprit. It was more modern looking and more sexy from a design perspective.

Hand Built

The Esprit was built completely by hand. The Esprit production line was established back in 1976. Until the end of production in 2004, nothing changed much since those days a quarter of a century ago. There were only 21 people on the line. Each car took about 584 man-hours to assemble.

With multiple people working on the car, total assembly was accomplished in about one week. One car rolled out of the assembly line every business day. Upon completion, each vehicle was driven on the test track.

After the test drive, the car was put on a lift and thoroughly inspected and adjusted. Afterwards, the car was test driven a second time to verify everything was perfect.

Pure Supercar

Although the Esprit was developed over 30 years, the basics remained the same throughout its life, all the way from the S1 through to the very last V8 02. The basics are pure supercar with its two-seater, mid-engined, rear wheel drive layout and that wedge shape.

The Esprit was built around a steel backbone chassis, with the body panels made of Glass Fibre. All Esprit engines were designed and produced by Lotus from the first 2.0 liter inline 4 to the strong V8. Gearboxes on the other hand were sourced from other manufacturers. This was done as Lotus couldn't afford to buy the tools to make their own gearboxes due to the small Esprit sales volumes.

• Lotus Esprit S1 (1975-1978)

• Lotus Esprit S2 (1978-1981)

• Lotus Esprit S2.2 (1980-1981)

• Lotus Essex Turbo Esprit (1980-1981)

• Lotus Turbo Esprit (1981-1986)

• Lotus Turbo Esprit HC (1986-1987)

• Lotus Esprit NA (1987-1990)

• Lotus Esprit S3 (1981-1987)

• Lotus Esprit Turbo SE (1989-1993)

• Lotus Esprit X180-R (1991)

• Lotus Esprit Turbo S4 (1993-1996)

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  Lotus Esprit Sport 300 (1992-1995)

• Lotus Esprit S4s (1995-1997)

• Lotus Esprit GT3 (1997-1999)

• Lotus Esprit V8 (1996-2004)

• Lotus Esprit V8 GT (1997-2001)

• Lotus Esprit V8 SE (1997-2004)

• Lotus Esprit Sport 350 (1999-2001)

• Lotus Esprit 02 (2002-2004)

• Lotus Esprit X180-R (Type 105) (Race)

• Lotus Esprit X180-R1 (Type 106) (Race)

• Lotus Esprit GT1 (Type 114) (Race)

Lotus Esprit History

Th Esprit was first shown at the Turin Motor Show in 1972. The Cars body was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. Ultimately getting to production was harder than expect and the S1 wasn't delivered to customers until 1976. The S1 was quite close in style to the concept car, with a 2.0 liter engine design by Lotus attached to a Citroen gearbox.

The S1 was replaced by the S2 in 1978, with only a few external and internal changes, it was basically a fix for all the S1's problems, the main one being cooling. The S2 was followed in by the S2.2, which was basically an S2 with a 2.2 liter engine instead of a 2.0 liter. Lotus also released a special edition S2 in JPS colors to celebrate winning the F1 championship.

The next Esprit was the turbo in late 1980. This was a very different car underneath, including a new stiffer chassis, and looked slightly different due to a body kit. The first version of the Turbo was the Essex (One of Lotus' F1 sponsors). Carrying a 2.2 liter turbocharged engine and making 210 bhp, it was legitimately fast. In 1981 after the success of the Turbo Esprit, Lotus launched the Esprit S3, which used the new turbo chassis, but carried an un-turbocharged engine and lost the body kit. This is called an NA for normally aspirated, basically meaning no turbo. The S3 was produced till 1987.

The redesign of the body in 1987 by Peter Stevens was coded as the new body Esprit X180 (you may see them called an Esprit X180). The restyled bodied Esprit replaced the Turbo Esprit and S3 with the Esprit Turbo and Esprit NA. These cars were almost unchanged mechanically, but carrying a new Renault gearbox. The Turbo and NA Esprit's are hard to tell apart.

In 1989 Lotus released the Esprit SE, which was the fastest Esprit to date with 264 bhp and a top speed of 165mph. The SE got the 2.2 liter, 4 cylinder, Turbocharged engine, but was now intercooled, using Lotus own Chargecooler. This allowed the engine to produce more power. The SE was also the first model to carry a rear wing, which makes it easy to tell apart from the more basic Turbo.

In 1993 another restyle was done in-house and the S4 was produced. This was the first Esprit to carry power steering, which would now be on every model released. Mechanically the same as the SE, this was an update to make the Esprit look more modern, with new bumpers, spoilers, wheels and interior. This was followed by a limited edition Sport 300, which was a race car for the road. The S4s was a mixture of the two, with an impressive 300bhp, still from the same 4-cylinder engine, released in 1995.

In 1996 the Esprit V8 was launched. Lotus took an S4s and added a brand new 3.5 liter, twin-turbo V8 engine (FINALLY). The V8 engine made 350bhp and had a top speed of 175mph. In 1998 the Esprit V8 got a new rear wing and a major interior overhaul. Lotus now offered two V8s, a cheaper V8-GT which came without a wing and other options and the fully loaded V8-SE. Both carried the same engine and performance, but the SE was more luxurious.

In 1999 Lotus released the Esprit Sport 350 with a limited run of only 50 cars. A track inspired car, with weight saving the main object. This would also be the most expensive Esprit ever but it had tasty stuff like magnesium wheels, a carbon fibre wing and AP Racing brakes. The Sport 350 is the ultimate Esprit. 2002 saw the final update to the Esprit. The Esprit V8 02 was basically a V8-SE for GT money. New wheels, rear lights and the Sport 350's brakes made the 02 quite a bargain. Production of the Esprit stopped in February of 2004.

The Design Evolution

Giorgetto Giugiaro was the man behind the original design of the Esprit (with the help of Colin Chapman and Lotus stylist Oliver Winterbottom) and was based on a lengthened Europa chassis with GRP (plastic) body and a mid-mounted Lotus engine. The Giugiaro Esprit was updated four times in the next 10 years (1976-1987), from S1 — S2 — S2.2 — S3 and finally the turbo Esprit.

The first major alterations to the Giugiaro Esprit outline occurred in October 1987, after around 4,700 Esprits had rolled of the Lotus production line. The brief was that 'A more modern and sophisticated shape was required, but with no need for change to the basic mechanicals'. This challenge was met by Peter Stevens, Colin Spooner and Ken Sears, who did such a great job, it has remained unchanged 15 years later, with only bumper and wing updates really changing the overall look of the Esprit. The Stevens Esprit model ran from 1987-1993 as NA (normally aspirated) — Turbo — Turbo HC and SE.

In 1993 Lotus designer Julian Thomson went to work on the next revamp of the Esprit, badged the S4. With Vauxhall now owning Lotus, their parts bin was set to, with a major update to the interior and only minor changes to the exterior. The mechanicals remain as those in the SE, still with a 4-cylinder 2.2 liter turbocharged and intercooled engine making 264bhp. Minor exterior changes included new front and rear bumpers, front spoiler, indicators, roof mounted aerial, side scoop and Vauxhall door handles. Most eye-catching was the new rear wing, raised to aid visibility. This evolution ran from 1993 to 2001 as the S4 — S4S — Sport 300 — V8 — GT3 — Sport 350 — V8-GT — V8-SE.

The last rethink was released in 2002 by current Lotus designer Russell Carr, referred to as the 'Facelift Esprit'. Again no changes were made to the mechanicals of the V8, and the exterior only receiving new rear lights and the Sport 350 front spoiler. A few interior updates were made, but the basis of the update was to reduce the Esprit to one full spec model at a reduced price, making the Esprit a more attractive option against other marquees.

Esprit FAQs

Which Lotus Esprit Should I Buy?

Two recommendations. Esprit GT3 - Lotus launched the Esprit GT3 in 1996. This was to be an entry level Esprit with no options as standard and only a 2.0 liter turbo engine. Light weight and well-balance with 240bhp the GT3 became known as the Drivers Esprit. Esprit Sport 350 - In 1999 Lotus released the Esprit Sport 350 with a limited run of only 50 cars. A track inspired car, with weight saving the main object. This would also be the most expensive Esprit ever but it had tasty stuff like magnesium wheels, a carbon fibre wing and AP Racing brakes.

How Much Is a Lotus Esprit?

The truth is that with such a long lifecycle and expansive list of variants, the pricing is all over the place. At the lower end you can find a decent spec car with not insane mileage in the lower $20,000 range.

How fast is the Lotus Esprit?

Luckily our specs section tells you. The original Lotus Esprit S1 had a claimed 0–60 mph time of 6.8 seconds, but real world testing pegged it at 8.1 seconds. Top speed was a claimed to be 138 mph but was closer to 130 mph. The fastest Esprit was the Esprit V8, helped by that wonderful twin-turbo V8. It ran the 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds and had a top speed of 172 mph.