USAndretti42

Now sold. Did you buy it? The Elite is also now marked as sold which saves me thinking about a trip to Pickering.

Thanks for posting that, John. First driving impressions of the Kia that I've read. Seems like a good car.

I stand corrected. Thanks, Tim.

Not willing to stick up for Boris but I'm sure I read that the GB/UK thing was a UN ruling, not ours.

Definitely the same car (same registration number). Now sold according to the Paul Matty web site. Paul Matty ad

Sold for £9,999!

Great post, Thomas. That's a much clearer version of what I was trying to say in my bumbling way.

It's over 10 years since I worked on my S2's headlamp motor circuitry so my memory is a bit fuzzy but this is what I remember. The headlamp lift motor has a pinion on the end of it's driveshaft. This engages with a "crownwheel" like in a differential. This "crownwheel" has the pivot and lever connected to it to move the lamp. On the back of it is a cam and in the housing are two sets of contact points, one for raising the lamp, the other for lowering it. When the lamp is fully down, the raise the lamp set of points is closed under spring pressure of the contact and the lower the lamp set is opened by the cam. Likewise, when the lamp is fully raised the cam opens the rasie the lamp contact and the lower the lamp is allowed to close. The changeover relay switches the 12V feed between the contacts. The relay has a NC and NO output, i.e. it switches the 12V output between the two when energised. Thus, with the lamps down and switched off, the raise the lamp side of the relay is open and the lower the lamp contact has 12V. The motor does not move because the cam has opened the contact in the lift motor. Turning the lights on energises the other side of the changeover relay and, as the raise the lamp contact in the motor is closed, the motor runs to raise the lamps until its contact is opened by the cam. Turning off the lights puts 12V to the other output (NC) of the changeover relay so the motor runs to lower the lamp until the cam opens the lower the lamp contact in the motor. There are diodes to prevent the supply back feeding from one to the other side of the motor. Sometimes a contact in the motor welds itself shut so the headlamp cycles up and down like a mad thing. Sometimes they get dirty so the lamp won't go up or it won't go down depending upon which contact is affected. I hope that helps.

The Autotrader artice says, "Citroen, Ford, Honda, Jaguar, Peugeot, Renault and Volvo. Renault Group also confirmed that all upcoming Renault and Citroen cars will have a top speed of 112 mph to increase safety." How does that increase safety by a significant amount? How many fatalities are through cars crashing at over 112 mph? It's like our local Post Office van which has a 70 mph speed limiter according to a sticker on its rear. Not very reassuring when it spends most of its time in a 30 mph limit.

It would be a surprise to me if Lotus were to ditch support for the Esprit. It still is a halo car for the company and a huge part of their image.

It's not a big job to remove the cam carriers. Just remember to hold the tappets with magnets so they don't fall out when you lift the carrier and mix up the shims. With the cam carriers off you can check that there's nothing in the bottom end preventing the engine turning and it makes it easy to see if a valve is stuck open.

You can buy ignition timing meters which also show the engine speed.

I don't know what it is about where I live but when I walk the dog around the block I usually see a VW Jetta, 2CV, Escort MkIII or IV (I can't tell the difference), a Ford Probe, a 205 GTI and a later CRX (del Sol in the US). The Jetta, 2CV and Escort are all in daily use.

Well done! Time for some Lotusing.

Hmmm. I think the vents are vacuum operated so, if there is a leak on the system, they may be closing as the vacuum drops and, with the increase in vacuum on the overrun, opening up again and allowing more air through.

Welcome back, Dan. I've wondered how your car was. Is the engine out? QED amd Paul Matty spring to mind but I would have a look in Absolute Lotus magazine and see who's advertising the relevant service in there.

On Saturday, I received an email from Lotus Silverstone which said that all the predicted 2022 build slots were sold out. They are "still taking deposits for deliveries in 2023 (more accurate timeframe will be available once full details will be available later in the year; September time)."

I think some of us may have been too hard on the styling, complaining that it looks like a Ferrari. It may do so, but the Gerrari is over twice the price! Makes the Emira look like a bargain. Harry Metcalfe mentioned on Instagram that he has ordered one and that Lotus has taken 2000 orders. I wonder whether that's orders or deposits?

Well after 16 years of membership, I've achieved the rank of "Rookie!" I think I'll give myself a pat on the back. 😝

I, too, was on the video wall which was a privilege. To be honest, I didn't think the looks are stunning as the Esprit was in its time but, there again, I can't think when there was a car which blew me out of the water with its looks since the Esprit except, perhaps, the Aston Vanquish. I thought the event was the reveal rather than the launch as the car is not yet in production so it's too early for definite pricing, performance figures and final driving impressions. It was more to raise interest and avoid the need to run camoflaged prototypes anymore. So there were never going to be any big surprises. Rather it was going to confirm some rumours and quash others. I think it achieved those objectives and was well done and the weather changing from pouring rain to rainbows and sunshine when the car was fully revealed (there were shots of its outline on the dash, some of the cars in the manufacturing area looked like they could have been partly-assembled Emiras) just added to the drama. Well done, Lotus.

That's a hell of a barn!

I had a S4 Elan a looong time ago and a S2 Esprit about 10 years ago. I had to recommission the Esprit as it had been sitting for several years before I bought it. Once I had done that ( replaced battery, brake seals and flexible hoses, gear linkage bushes, cam belt and tensioner bearing carburetor floats and needle valves and rebuilt the headlamp motors) it was reliable and needed only planned maintenance. My Elan did need a lot of looking after although some of the issues were there from when I bought it. None of the issues repeated themselves once I had sorted them so a well-sorted Elan should be reliable but will need more maintenance than an Esprit as its service schedules are shorter. As others have said, driving an Esprit is an occassion. People love the car or at least they do in the States. People give you the thumbs up and smile and take pictures. My S2 wasn't quick but it handled well. had a great gearchange and was a joy to drive. The Elan was also a joy to drive. It always felt as though it was doing its best to help and bit like a (well-behaved) Labrador puppy. Although it's probably not relevant to you, it was the best car I've ever driven in snow. As long as you didn't try to brake and corner at the same time, it just when where you wanted it to, a testament to its good manners. Don't forget that Gordon Murray tried to get the McLaren F1 to have as good a steering feel as the Elan so that shows how good a drive it is. I guess that none of the above helps you decide but, if you want to know more about how they drive, Harry Metcalfe, who does the Harry's Garage range of YouTube videos, has an Elan and an Esprit and has dedicated episodes to each. They were 2 of the cars of his 20-car fleet that he used over the winter. Worth looking at to get more of an idea about them. He also does an episode each year in which he reviews the cost of running his fleet and what work he has to do to them and the Lotuses neede very little. I suppose what I'm saying is, try them and get the one you prefer without worrying about how difficult it will be to service. Just get a good one.

That sounds like Richard Woollaston who is a member (RJWooll) on here

Great stuff! 120mph for hours on end on the autobahn must have been a good test of the car's reliability and it sailed through it.

Great news, Mike.