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If it was someone who wasn't really interested, I think I'd ask if she liked vanilla ice cream...and agree that I did too, but that the Esprit is home made rum & raisin. A perfect analogy for a Lotus lol

Tough one. One guy with a low loader can safely move a rolling chassis. The body would need a small team and is more vulnerable by comparison during the exercise. Kid gloves whichever way you go.

Totally jealous! It looks so cool. Never been a fan of the speedlines but your photos make them look really good. Love the black interior too, is that a new front bumper included in the deal? I pick my S2 up in a couple of weeks just like you sight unseen. Where to start... I'm planning to run a compression test and then go engine and box out first. It's unlikely that with the main threats tackled (timing belt, fuel lines and cooling system) it'd be driveable, but I would like to get a week or two out of it before I go full resto. It'd be nice to have a frame of reference to compare before and after.

It's struck me that women in general don't like Esprits. They like curvy things like e-types, Porsche 356's and boat tail Alfas. I know its a generalisation but while the ladies in my proximity appreciate it when I quantify everything it represents, they don't like the look of it. In one instance a Sicilian (so not prone to sugar coating it), sat up on her bar stool and exclaimed "Are you crazy, it's so ugly!" All the more power to weight for me my dear

We could fake Giorgetto's death! Joking aside it's a really interesting subject Rolls, pouring through the incredible list of cars he designed, some were icons before they even left the paper they were drawn on. The Esprit would comfortably fall into that category, but will it appreciate?

If the prices were to go to those realms your sunroof isn't going to knock even $5k off the price if the rest of the car is immaculate. But it's one of those awful aftermarket, cheap looking ones that are compromised in operation and size. You should pull it off unceremoniously and before it get's a chance to breed, torch it. In my humble opinion. Having said that, it's there now. If you were going the Pebble Beach route and I was your $100k buyer and I later found traces that it had been there under the headlining or whatever, the car having been billed as a concours d'elegance candidate... I'd be a very very unhappy douchebag. I'd love to think the Esprit would go the appreciatng classic route, in the magnified sense, but feel the G-cars are unlikely to get past the 20-30k range, if that.

I get the concern what with the driveshafts being stressed members Jon. I'd be hesitant to say any more because I haven't lived with an Esprit yet, but my Range Rover ('73) uses that spec U/J on the prop shafts and made about 185 ft lbs of torque stock, weighed about 1800kg and would put a fair degree of stress on the UJ's. My car makes 220 lb ft, I'm also running light truck tyres (taller and much heavier than the 205's that were standard). I've revved in low range for extended periods in sucking sand, shunted on recoveries, crawled rocks/riverbeds and covered at least 40k miles since the engine went in and my UJ's are fine. Regardless between transfer box output and diff input bearing wear there's almost always a little play... so LR's are always shunting their propshafts and the joints stand up to it. I do try always spec OE parts and keep my UJ's greasy but I suppose it's a question of just how much stress the Esprit puts on it's UJs. Anyway, here's link 1 and link 2 to some other suppliers I use and their respective UJ offerings. HD is by virtue of the cups and hence the bearings/thrust washers being deeper/bigger. So you're looking for the deepest cups you can find. If it doesn't say Gen. or OEM then I'd suggest it's not going to be HD. On a side note, I'm prob covering old ground here and I know they're used on a bunch of cars, but the Esprit ext. door handles are used on early RR's too (mid '80's - '95), and LR having a big following, you'll find them. EDIT: noticed that the (RTC3346)D can be G either.

Until June 9 I'm still technically in the spectator category and I'm acutely aware of what seeing my first (and last) Esprit was like. I've boxes of classic car magazines, pristine and spanning maybe 7 years of fanatical daydreaming in the early 2000's. The issues with either early Range Rovers or Esprit S1's are stored extra carefully. I have my Bahama Gold '73 RR since '06, and it's a total fluke that in the same issue of the mag with the Monaco based feature of the white S1, there's also a feature on a Bahama Gold RR. I digress intentionally; the point being that I've fantasised about an Esprit from a distance for close on 20 years. It just hasn't come round until now. Thing is I'd never actually seen one in the wild until a few years ago. It was at a large annual classic show that happens just down the road from me, and one I've had my RR and classic Mini's in in the past. Out of nowhere there were a pair of Esprits side by side one year. I'd never seen them before, never since. The people I was snooping around the show with got the hump and f'd off. Seemingly I had stopped talking mid sentence and stood there staring at the cars. I couldn't get over how wide they were. I was taught to drive (properly) by a racer in my teens and on seeing the Esprits all I could think about was wanting to be behind the wheel of my own one. I couldn't talk to the owners, like some form of not wanting to meet your heroes. No offence intended but I didn't want some weirdo giving me an impression of the car I couldn't relate to. I wanted to figure it out myself... to feel the chassis, listen to the grip, find the revs and push my own will in some curves. More than the sum of every glowing review of "it's a driver's car", the Esprit in the flesh whispered promises of all that to me. See every grinning 10 year old kid mentioned in this thread... that's where I am right now. I'm 37.

Guys I'm trying to keep my mouth shut until I actually have my Lotus (and a full forum account) but being a long time LR man, that's Land Rover t you, I may be able to help here. Have a look at LR p/n RTC3346D. I think you'll find the dimensions to be within spec but arguably just as telling; it was in use on LR's when the Esprit came to be. The UJ with p/n TVC... didnt come into production (on LR's anyway) until around the time the S3 arrived. HTH PS def always spec the nippled item, and count your stars you don't have double cardons to contend with Oh and one other thing. Non official but I always leave the nipple out and pack the caps with a little extra grease so that when you assemble the channels and caps are all full and any excess will push out from the nipple seat.

Gent's it strikes me that given there's no way to warn a prospective buyer on ebay, the only responsible course of action is to give the vendor the benefit of the doubt (that they are reiterating what they believe to be true) and instead contact them to advise that the car simply isn't what they think it is. At that point they either take according action or they don't. In the event that a prospective buyer does actually find this thread, they'll either be reassured or fully resolved that it's not for them. EDIT: The photos btw have been taken by someone who knows their way around a camera, and at a time they knew the light would be good (sun low in the sky). They've been reworked in post production - lowered saturation, heightened contrast and some colour tint for the most part. Some have been sharpened more than others. I mention that because when you sharpen a hi resolution photo it becomes very 'honest'. If you look at the interior shots you can see individual flecks of dust, wear on the wheel, carpet, centre console and to the right of the dash. To put it bluntly - someone taking photos at this level could easily have hidden the interior wear, the stone chips and even the laminations in the glass if they wanted, and no one would be any the wiser until they saw the car in the flesh.

You mean the yellow one on the turntable? Must be from one of the motor shows no? So I just rewatched the clip and I must have been grumpy the first time because it's not a bad piece

Yes, there was a particular shot where someone seemed to be sawing the wheel as you might to check for an imagined fault. As an editor I wouldn't have dreamt of including that as some would-be tail happiness. I found myself getting a little offended on the car's behalf. It's not great journalism to talk about wanting more power in a Lotus without quantifying the marque's design ethos.

I've been trying to decipher that list. May I ask is it an official Lotus document or a member's notes? I presume the list is by no means exhaustive? Being totally new to identifying Giugiaro Esprits I'm guessing that the 200 #'s are chassis and the designations starting 907 are engine. But the numbers starting 14- (with Delivered or Collected interspersed in places), and the last numbers: BL _ _ _ FT _ _ _ are a mystery to me. If anyone could explain to a greenhorn I'd appreciate it, I get the feeling I haven't mastered the search engine yet.

Have been watching the show since it started and I'm glad it exists. It's a little wobbly in places but it's getting better every show. As a matter of interest I'd love to know what anyone thinks of their take on the Esprit?

That's interesting about the colour. There are a lot of questions unanswered at the moment. I'll probably know more after Paddys day. Ultimately it'll be a ground up job but in the short term if a sympathetic restoration and some cautionary engine work would get me a few weekends in the summer then ill be sorely tempted. As it is I've my classic Range Rover to do first

I haven't been able to find a picture of a blue non leather interior. And there are so many interior colour/upholstery combinations it'd be interesting to know what was actually available from Lotus.

Great response guys, thanks a mill. You seem like a really cosmopolitan and friendly community. Simon does the taste comment extend beyond the Lotus? It's white with a blue int. (is it velour or velvet or what?). I'm not going to play with it Roger(?). I want the pure experience of a car I've only been able to read about for so long. I produce video so one way or another there'll be visuals The manuals and if you'll bare with me for a short time; the full membership, will have to wait such is the financial campaign for the car itself.

Don't apologise, strength in numbers. Coincidentally, S2 Esprit I'm hoping to get in the coming weeks is white too, and I'm half Greek. Have had this for maybe 12 years.

Thanks guys. There's a little lead time before I can get the car, not least because I'm not rolling in pocket money with a new business that needs further investment. But it belongs to a good pal who's known for years that if was ever to move, it'd come my way. He knows I'll cherish it so I'm getting it for a good deal less than £5k. The only other car I'd love Chris is a Morgan (something in the Aero family) but to be honest Im a sucker for an underdog - hence everything else I have, and bar polarising looks the Morgan doesn't fall into the underdog category imo

Hello, I'm about to fulfil a long time wish and finally get my first Lotus, an Esprit S2. The only way it could be any better is if S2's had been made with S1 looks and interior but I'm not complaining. I'm so excited that its completely absorbing my days and Im looking forward to getting acquainted on the Lotus forums. I'm a 37 year old fella and the Lotus is the second last car for my forever car stable. It'll be joining a classic Mini, a pair of land rovers and a BMW motorcycle. Im not Anthony Anstead but I'm decent with a spanner and I have good glassing experience from time spent at sea. I can't wait to work on something that demands finesse