hedgerley

General opinion over the last year or two is its going to have a V8, so I assume its the Vantage V8, not the DB9 V12. And I agree, if it includes that clever exhaust flap, it should sound awesome. Construction should be interesting - the Eagle seems to use the new 'composite mat' first seen on the Two-Eleven. New Esprit is reckoned to be the same.

Lead article in the new Evo. A general update on Lotus (in good health, back to profitability), confirmation of the Eagle 2+2 to be announced at the London Motor Show next year (probably a 3.2L Toyota V6 according to Evo) but the most interesting speculation is the rumour of a deal with Aston Martin for the new Esprit engine, not BMW. Of course its just that, speculation, as Mike Kimberley remains tight lipped. Interesting.

I don't see many up here - a beautiful red Stevens heading past Dalgety Bay on the A421. I was in the green Omega you gave way to on the roundabout and followed through to Abderdour. Unfortunately it was a family outing and I'd just put mine away! Anyone here?

Sorry, I missed the blonde - I'd just come up from Whitewell and turned out of the blind corner with the mirror which in the pouring rain meant it was virtually useless. I was therefore concentrating on putting my foot down and staying in front of any oncoming vehicles once I'd straightened up! I caught sight of you on the left a few yards further on. Maybe you can answer a question - what on earth was Fox Day all about? As we headed out towards Settle we went through several villages where the residents had put out man sized fox 'mannequins' in a variety of costumes and had them on display at the end of their drives, down farm tracks and around village halls. It was all a bit spooky.

Cool. I was taken straight back to the motor shows I went to back in my teens when I saw that. I think I have some photos of an Esprit in that colour, or maybe bronze, from about 1979. As for being spotted, I'm with you i.e. despite some big trips and 14k miles in the past year and a half, I've gone completely unnoticed aswell.

Now, having been to the middle of nowehere in Lancs (Whitewell) for a wedding, we headed out cross country to Settle in North Yorkshire. Went through a small village up in the fells called Long Preston and caught a fleeting glimpse of what appeared to be an S1 in a strange mint green/gold colour. Very seventies. In nearly two years of ownership only the second Esprit I've encountered on the road. Unfortunately I'd left mine at home in Scotland given the appalling weather and all the gubbins for the wedding. Anyone here?

Interparcel did the business. Booked late Tuesday online, picked up 4.15 Wednesday afternoon near Norwich, arrived 09.20 Thursday morning, Edinburgh.

This is great to hear. Its worth keeping track of Tesla. They have just closed another round of funding, $45m, to get their 4 seat sedan to market and fund the mass production of the Roadster. Tesla Series D Funding They only planned to build 100 Roadsters, at Hethel, to showcase the technology. They have over 400 orders so far, a nice chunk of revenue for Lotus on top of the Engineering work they have been doing for Tesla. Good stuff.

Thanks for the offers of help guys. The deal is now done and the gearbox is being shifted by Interparcel (or in this particular case TNT I believe). Pretty reasonable price I thought -

Just watched the highlights - Kubica has mild concussion and a sprained ankle!!! They will be letting him out tomorrow. Says a huge amount for the strength of the cars.

I've had mine 18 months now and have done around 14k miles. I bought it with 29k on the clock. I needed a new alternator a few weeks after I bought it, then the nearside oil cooler split big time and I replaced the whole circuit to be on the safe side. I had major leaks from the oil and water turbo cooling pipes, all replaced last year and in January this year an exhaust leak turned out to be 3 sheared manifold studs. And when my mechanic took it out for a test drive after all the work it dumped all its engine coolant on the garage floor from a split front radiator hose. Oh, and a stuck wastegate actuator - I had both turbos replaced when the engine was out for the new manifold studs. Then a couple of weeks ago it suffered the famous input shaft snap and loss of 5th gear. I have treated it very sympathetically - I don't drive aggressively, have never tracked it and certainly not 'abused' it. But 5th went when I was bimbling along on the A1 at around 70mph after visiting Donnington. I am currently acquiring a recon/upgraded box. So, whats the moral of the story? Yes, its fragile and my wallet is about

Can anyone recommend a trusted courier or delivery outfit who could pick up a recon gearbox in Norwich for me and deliver it to Edinburgh? Hopefully not to expensive! I'll have a trawl round the net but thought I'd try here first. Thanks.

I'd second the comments about the Larini cats supplied by Marcus re. look and feel, perceived quality, noise, performance etc. Unfortunately, a few weeks after fitting mine last summer one of the welds came adrift, completely. The cat ended up in two pieces. I returned it to Larini and they welded it up, doing a good job. All was fine for several months when the other cat suffered a similar failure - as I took the car to my dealer for its MOT in December! As before, the weld failed around the full circumference. Larini contributed to the cost of the repair. I'll not offer any recommendation, these are the facts. Its your decision.

Thanks guys. The recon box is on my radar Mike - I exchanged emails with Jim last week, before I had the diagnosis, just in case the news was bad. It doesn't have any upgrades as such but as I have no plans to boost the power I'm sure it would be OK. I am waiting on the full report from the mechanic to see exactly what needs replacing before making any decisions. If I go down the upgrade route, it seems GTO Engineering is the only choice at the moment (I need this done asap Craig as I have a busy summer lined up). Their gear kit is manufactured by Quaife, so I guess it might be a bit steep. Anyone any experience of these guys? I am still waiting for their price list despite several requests. Speaking of Quaife, they of course do a full replacement 6 speed box. But at

OK, I've had the phone call and its bad news, although privately its what I expected to be honest - the primary shaft has snapped. There is minimal damage to the casing and it seems to have stayed in situ. I guess it would have strayed eventually and caused further damage. I'm just waiting for the parts list from my dealer. So, its replacement/upgrade time. Does anyone out there have experience of the GTO Engineering upgrades? Derek Bell isn't manufacturing his at the moment. Holloway in the States seem to have a programme in place but no pricing or availability as yet. I hope you have better luck.

Mine was taken into my dealer for some other work yesterday but also to diagnose a similar gearbox problem. Basically I have a false neutral where 5th used to be, otherewise it drives fine as a 4 speed. Its a while since this happened so I don't recall the other gears being out of position, but the symptoms sound similar. Consensus on my own thread was of course the dreaded 5th gear primary shaft snap and all the expense that involves. If it turns out to be a selector problem that would be a major relief. I am expecting a phone call, maybe even later today - I'll keep you posted.

Ah ha, now I remember. I'm off the road at the moment - the dreaded 5th gear problem. So, its out with the bike this weekend, up that very road, to blow away my depression.

Don't tell everyone about that road mate, they'll all be up here! I thought it was my secret....... Where in Fife are you? Haven't seen you about.

Peter - Just re-read my post. Use of the past tense gives the impression I had the new box. Unfortunately not. The car is still on its original transmission and clutch (43k miles). 5th just went awol, like a false neutral. I haven't had the time to get the back end off to see what the problem is. It went at Newcastle and I drove home fine (130miles), but with 4 speeds. No other symptoms whatsoever - I assume with the end of the shaft snapped off and floating around it would have seized the gears at some point. But no, it got me home OK. Drives and sounds perfect, although I haven't taken it out since getting home of course.

Since losing 5th a few weeks ago I had an email exchange with Derek Bell. A fully reconditioned box with the relevant bits (primary motion shaft mainly) and his other mods, on a exchange basis, was

So, I still have a 4 speed box and despite driving perfectly with 4 gears, its to risky to go to far, so out came the bike (Kawasaki 1100) this afternoon. A short sprint up the M90, over to Knockhill, down the back to Powmill, up to Gleneagles via Yetts O' Muckhart and Glendevon. A stunning ride that was so good I turned round and did it again. Stopped off in the middle of nowhere to sit in the sun, listen to the river and the Buzzards wheeling overhead. Makes all the crap I put up with working in London Mon-Fri melt away. Almost perfect - if only the Esprit was up to it (I'll have to make do just washing and polishing it this weekend). But a pretty damn fine second best!

I'll definately be checking all the linkages, cables, adjusters etc this weekend before messing with the gearbox. Whats odd is that it just feels like a false neutral. The stick assumes the position but simply doesn't engage and wobbles around like a stick in a bowl of porridge. I can just feel something through the stick, like its trying to engage. But there are no expensive sounding noises, just like when it went. It was just like dipping the clutch - drive simply ceased and the revs mounted, fortunately not to high as I backed off immediately. I then carried on, gingerly at first but did the next 130 miles or so with no problem whatsover, with several stops, up and down the box at roundabouts and lights and cruising at 60 in 4th. No noises, no difficulty engaging gears, nothing out of the ordinary, apart from having a 4 speed box. Odd. Having just spent

Near Newcastle, anyone find it? Seriously, after a superb run down to Donnington I headed back to Scotland last night. Cruising at about 75, heading downhill on the A1 towards the Metro Centre, the revs suddenly climbed and I lost all drive. There were no warning noises or vibrations, it was as if I'd just dipped the clutch. Dropping down to 4th I found it again. After slowing down and checking the shift out, it turns out 1st to 4th are fine, as is reverse as I discovered later after stopping. I made it home OK, but kept to 60ish in 4th with no further problems. So, no graunching or any other ominous noises and no difficulty shifting up or down - just no drive in 5th. I've done a quick search but found no similar postings. As I am no expert on gearboxes, can anyone advise what the problem might be? The car is a '98 V8-GT.

Your brother will have to head for Park Lane Kato where they have their new showroom. Its few yards up from Stratstone Aston Martin, BMW etc. Its TVR as well and they all look very nice! I'll be staying in town this weekend (I only work here, I live in Scotland) so will try to pop in and have a chat.

I'd second the vote for the Goodyear Eagle F1's. I've been running them for several years on all my cars, including the Esprit. I replaced the Toyos not long after I bought the car and definately noticed the better grip in the wet (helpful living in Scotland!) and the generally more comfortable/quiet ride.