jollyroger

I know the feeling, I couldn't agree more

Went twice for week-long car trips around Europe with significant other, everything we needed fit comfortably in the Esprit...

Actually, I am pretty convinced that the Sport 300 cage is different than the X180-R one. I am sure there are are similarities, but from the few pictures of the Sport 300 one and from the diagram and pictures of the X180-R ones I can spot differences. One immediately visible difference is that in the S300 cage there is a single large diagonal beam in the cabin behind the seats, whereas in the X180-R there are two smaller diagonal beams. This is of course speculating that S300 #45 (the only one with a visible cage in the pictures) has the original LotusSport cage, rather than a different, purpose built one.

The only one I could find on the Internet is this: http://www.tangcla.com/galleries/lotus-esprit-sport-300/

I second this, completely!

I see the Viewcube at the top right corner of the screen, is it Maya?

Beautiful early V8, and beautiful Alfa C4 too :-)

Some Sport 300 were also fitted with a full roll cage, it was a factory installed option, sold as "Sport Pack".

Ok, a couple more pictures. The photographer has not finished the retouching yet, I will repost/replace them when they are 100% done.

Here's mine, in Toronto, Canada.

Finally I have a decent picture taken here in Toronto in November, I hope you enjoy it...

Ahem... I think this is the sharpest looking one, without the huge V8 wheelarches, and in the proper hands was capable of punching way above its weight, in classic Lotus tradition...

You are absolutely right, it is extremely cool, and yet that one is the racing X180R car :-) If we are including racing Esprits then in my opinion the crown goes to the Zanardi/Portman #45 Sport 300 GT3. It didn't race for long, but that thing was sparring with the Porsche 911 GT2, Ferrari F40LM/GTE and McLaren F1 GTRs, a different breed of cars...

Ah, no. The Sport 300 also had the roll-cage, it was an optional but it was available right from the factory, and all the cars that did not have the full cage still have the complete set of mounting points and the other chassis stiffeners; it also came by default with the top engine brace, the LSD, same brakes, suspension etc. as the X180R. So at the factory one could "strip" an S300 to light and stiff specification with the optional package, but not "upgrade" the X180R to "more comfortable". Additionally the wheels/tires (much larger and grippier, the front tires on the S300 are wider than the rears on the X180R, the rears are the widest ever mounted on an Esprit and match the race cars') and aero package, which essentially reflect the race X180R/GT/Le Mans cars, this is pretty clear by just looking at the S300 and Le Mans cars. If I am not mistaken the turbocharger was also upgraded from T3 to the T3/T4 hybrid. It is the best :-) Francesco

Hello everyone, any clue as to where to find the colour code for the rear license plate holder? It is for my Sport 300, which has the holder painted a matt-ish black, similar to the plastic surrounding the rear lights... Any help is appreciated :-) Cheers! Francesco

Hello everyone, any idea whether/where an ALDL cable/connector for Freescan can still be purchased? I am planning to build a permanently in-car connected diagnostic device... Thanks! Francesco

Thanks everyone, I will post lots of pictures as soon as I take it out for a decent spin

Hi everyone, after a missed first attempt last year, I finally managed to get my Esprit Sport 300 to Toronto, so I am now officially a member of the Canada TLF chapter Cheers! Francesco

The S350 is an awesome car, hugely, hugely fast, especially with the optional ECU. I my very humble opinion the S300 still has the upper hand in terms of desirability and perhaps driving pleasure; they simply had more time and more scope to exchange standard parts for uprated components, so in the end the S300 is more removed from the other models available at the time than the S350 is from the "regular" V8... I have driven a V8 and it's smooth, fast and effortless, but something still makes me prefer the S300, and when it was time to choose the Esprit to buy and keep I had no doubts at all about which one to look for. Even the rally-car-style bark of the flat-out 920, I love it Francesco

I had an S4 for 10 years and I liked it so much I decided to find and buy (to keep) the supposedly best Esprit of all time, the S300. After looking around for several years (and missing a few opportunities) I managed to find the one I liked, then had it fully restored (there is a thread about this restoration in the forum), and as of last week it is finally here with me in Canada. It's hard to describe, there is definitely something about it that sets it apart from the other Esprits, even though it is by all accounts very, very similar. As Vulcan Grey puts it, the brakes are a huge improvement, at least compared to all other 4 cylinder Esprits. The grip and traction of the 245 front and 315 rear tires is face-bending (they match the GT2 slick tire widths), and the fronts are so big it tends to follow road tracks, especially when braking very hard, so one needs to be mindful of that... The stiffer chassis also makes it tolerate stiffer springs without issues. Overall it feels more purpose-built than the other Esprits, in a way I believe only the X180-R matches. The X180-R is marginally lighter and has the roll-cage by default, which means you can stiffen the suspension without having the chassis bend in the hard corners. The S300's has a marginally better LSD, and the huge tires make you corner at absurd speeds; it also has all the roll-cage mounts, so a full roll-cage can be installed, and a few came from the factory with it pre-installed. Staring at it gives me the feeling of owning a true GT homologation special. Driving it puts a grin on my face that lasts for days Francesco

Esprit Sport 300 (phew I got one of those...) Type 114 Esprit Sport 300 GT2 2.2 I4 (Zanardi-Portman BPR car, in my mind the ultimate Esprit) Esprit S1 (Timeless) Type 79 (Possibly the best looking F1 of all time) Lotus 99T (Ayrton Senna's Turbo F1)

Thanks Simon, any idea who might have any for sale now?

Hello everyone, I am trying again to seek help sourcing a dark green leather documents holder for my Sport 300. The original one suffered really bad discoloration and it is impossible to restore, so I am looking for another one. Any help finding a decent one is greatly appreciated! Cheers, Francesco

Hello everyone, would anybody by any chance know where I can find a 1993/4 Lotus Esprit leather document holder? The one in my S300 is unfortunately in very poor conditions, and I would like to replace it with another one. It is the classic dark green leather holder, with beige interior, any ideas? Cheers, Francesco