The Esprit character and Appeal

[Kimbers]

Ok

Was thinking about things in general and wanted to ask what the Esprit meant to all of you? It's well documented what it means to me and dad had one from about 88 onwards, but maybe it means more. I mean, it's not just a car is it! It has personality and a definate sense of humour. I used to find myself talking to the car as I cheerfully bounced over a drunk who happened to fall infront of me..." Oh did the bad man hurt you (screams from outside).....it's alright he won't do it again, where's reverse...clunk (screams stop)".

But the car is not just a great lookin motor, or a technical marvel (well it was back in the 70's). You drive down the road thinking look at me, how cool am I? and that Turbo Lag in the older models just spins you around......or, you are telling everyone what great build quality it is in comparison to your old TVR and the door handle drops out (don't panic, only on the S1). The car is really a free spirited personality who bites you on the ass when it thinks you are cocky and gives you more gratification than a car load of drunk nyphets who "Just love that beer belly!" when you treat it right.

I drove many of the Esprits and wish I had the money for one right now (when I can dispense with the wife and kids) but it is the essence of what a real sports car is for me.

What about you?

[WayneB]

What the Esprit means to me was wedding of cutting edge Italian styling with British Formula 1 inspired handling and performance. B)

There are not many cars I get just as much pleasure from looking at as driving,and the Esprit is one of them.

I think as the car got older, it lost some of its "edge" and became all nice and rounded and user friendly.

The older Giugiaro car was more of a racer IMO

Hope the new car is more raw and exciting to look at

[Kimbers]

me too

[hovgaard]

Aha! I knew it. The real purpose of this forum is to provide Lotus with a focal point for insight into the minds that make up the Esprit owning masses, so that the next car can be tuned to find loyal customers. But that suits me fine, if it buys me the illusion of influence.

The Esprit has many labels. Here is my list.

The Esprit is a boyhood dream. The very few lady owners will have had a boyhood as well, I imagine, round about the time The Spy Who Loved Me came out. I was a sucker for cars at least since the age of 1

[USAndretti42]

In contrast to Jens, I was looking for a Lotus rather than an Esprit. But like him, the raw driving experience with no electronic interference between you and the road is what makes Lotus so special. I wanted a car where the steering feel was real and to get away from the video game feel of most modern cars. The styling is a bonus. If I still lived in England, however, I'm not sure if I would have bought one because of its width.

[slade]

I have to say I caught the lotus/esprit bug after I bought mine. In consideration were 300ZX twin turbos, MR2 turbos, Silvia converted 240SXs, and Mitsubishi GTO VR4s. I wanted something relatively high tech with good engineering that was quick and not at all practical. For a price. I wanted something that was a quick point to point car that I could brag about.

Never had style or heritage as a consideration til I reallized I could (kind of) afford the Lotus. Had all I wanted and more, looks, exclusivity, anonymity and precision, all that with leather seats

To me the Esprit is a scrappier, more businesslike machine than a Ferrari or a Porsche, more practical than a Ferrari or other high end exotica, something made in spite of fashion, a good object that is only recognized as such by that sort of person. A no compromise kind of car that Ferrari owners would sneer at, because it's put together with the primaries in mind and the secondaries forgotten, gets more looks, is cheaper and faster than their cars

A ferrari may have passion, but anyone can buy a ferrari. You have to be passionate about cars to even know about Lotus. In the US anyways.

slade

Edited December 2, 2005 by slade

[Guest teigan]

to me, the biggest detraction from purchasing an esprit, was the movie appearances. i no more desire driving to work in bond's car, than i do walking the dog in darth vader's clothes. don't let the car become a costume.

[Splashout]

what the esprit means to me hmmmmmmm........................................................................

................................................................................

.

............................

.....Bankrupcy

.....Bleeding Knuckles

......low loaders

simple..........LOVE

[Hairyarse]

I still dont own an Esprit yet (WILL happen before long!!)

Esprit since I was old enough to know what a car is, has been the most stunning looking motor ever! (IMO!) I just melt when I see it (is that perverse?!!) and have always craved for one.

Couldn't stop drooling over the Esprit on Club Lotus stand at Classic Motor Show!

Kinda sums it up when my son asked me last weekend, 'Dad, if you could have an Esprit or a Mclaren F1, Ferarri... (the list went on!) what would u have?'

'Esprit every time!' I told him

'You're sad!' said my son!!

[Daniel]

To me, it's all about 3 words, and I apologise if this sounds cheesy but.....

Handling

Handling....and.....

Handling

I love the fact that the lotus cars by tradition have always been sublime chassis using moderately powered revy engines.

I'm not a huge fan of the V8 esprit's, a just think that lotus over extended the life of the Esprit and used a big engine to compete on a marketing level with other supercars......just didnt seem very lotus to me.

The heritage and the Chapman name means a lot to me, and the sooner Lotus return to top flight motorsport the better for me.

[andecorp]

My garage - Esprit, Diablo, dancing donkey

Guess which gets driven the most? And which gets a good night look every night, even after so many years? (ok, ok, the Diablo gets a looksie too )

I think that says it all.

[Toua]

A ferrari may have passion, but anyone can buy a ferrari. You have to be passionate about cars to even know about Lotus. In the US anyways.

I can relate to what Slade is saying! I never cared much about other cars beside the NSX in the US. To be honest, most cars here suck except Saleen S7 but thats way out of the price range. I was concidering a MR2 Turbo.

Anyways, when I was 5 and say the movie Pretty Woman, I fell in love with the lotus esprit. I loved it. 13 years later, my passion for the car emerge again. But with time, I started falling for the older model S3, Turbo Esprit, Essex.

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

Ande- WHICH dancing donkey though?!

(eg. if it was a Dino I think we'd all forgive you, giving it a goodnight pat on the bumper too! lol )

[Guest teigan]

i have a two dancing donkies in my garage, and neither of them are ferraris.

the fact that anyone is weighing the esprit with an nsx,mr2,and s7 is proof that the lotus badge has been devalued. what an insult all round. the insult will be complete when anyone without taste can afford a used esprit, crash it, then decide it isn't worth repairing because there's a new honda out with a hypermajig. maybe that's already happened.

[Toua]

lol. dont get me wrong. There isnt much MR layouts offer in the US. All i know is the MR2, NSX, Saleen S7, Fiero, Vector M12, Esprit, and now the Elise. Im just a fan of the MR layout.

[molemot]

1982 Turbo: Last of the Owner Maintainable Supercars.

After that they're all electronics - which always means trouble! Ive spent a bit of my chequered career doing electronics and I don't trust 'em.

My Lotus has always repaid the time and effort spent fettling it by looking after me. One morning, driving to work, road from Kingston Bridge to Hampton Court... decided to test the wastegate. Floored it; usual surge of power, boost gauge goes up..and up..and up...! Other drivers flashing headlights etc.etc.. Didn't think I was being TOO O.T.T.; anyway, now know diaphragm burst in wastegate, so test over. Drivers STILL flashing at me! Thinks: do they know something I don't? Pulls over to investigate. Fan switch has burst out of radiator hose, coolant everywhere.... Hmm. Relocate fan switch, hold in place with cable tie, pour in the spare water... Continue at much muted pace. Go around corner, usual speed at this point 60+, PC Plod steps out from behind tree and zaps me with his radar gun....28mph! Hadn't seen such a sad face in AGES. Turns out he was there specifically for me, as my velocity on previous days hadn't gone unnoticed. Fan switch has always worked perfectly since, no sign of coming out.... Thank you, Lotus!

Last summer on a trip to France, Lotus parked beside my boat, had to keep getting off the boat to lecture admiring crowd about the car. I'd have it just as sculpture to look at.

[Evil_Dr_Fish]

HA!

Glad to hear about a disappointed plod!

<sticks two fingers up in a 1977 London Punk stylee!>

[WayneB]

Ahh, a kindrid spirit!

I actually like my cars lack of computery aswell!

Like tuning the carbs and making the adjustments, its very satisfying when you get it right B)

The computerised EFI members of the forum are missing out bigtime

And your cars otter switch saved you a speeding ticket

Stick that in your pipe and smoke it Michael Rodregues! :(

[andecorp]

Ande- WHICH dancing donkey though?!

(eg. if it was a Dino I think we'd all forgive you, giving it a goodnight pat on the bumper too! lol )

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

355 Spyder - in my opinion, the most beautiful Ferrari built - everything after that looks like a Jap kit car.

[Kimbers]

355 Spyder - in my opinion, the most beautiful Ferrari built - everything after that looks like a Jap kit car.

Is there really a great Ferrari? I'm sorry but just couldn't stomach it! They were always the arch enemy of Lotus in early esprit/Elite days and dad always respected them but I hated it every time a red car beat a black and gold one....or someone compared the Esprit to some Italian upstart!

Maybe it's just me, but even now I hate it when Ferrari win F1.

[andecorp]

Is there really a great Ferrari?

Why do you think I'm calling them dancing donkey?

Uncomfortable, slow, don't handle too well, UNRELIABLE!, but an absolute beautiful gear change.

355 Spyder is just a beautiful looking convertible. But it is collecting dust in my garage...

[Kimbers]

Agreed, many of the earlier Ferrari's looked absolutely gorgeous but for me, your ID picture shows a truely beautiful sight and you have chosen prob. the best view and best 3/4 side view in the automotive industry.

[mr50bmg]

A ferrari may have passion, but anyone can buy a ferrari. You have to be passionate about cars to even know about Lotus. In the US anyways.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What an excellent quote!

Likewise, I agree with teigan that the association of the Esprit with various Hollywood films and fictional heros is a first rate deterrent (yes, I realize this helped Lotus financially and was great publicity).

As for Ferrari, the 355 is beautiful. Maybe I'm weird, but I can look at almost any car (non-US) and appreciate it for what its designers intended it for, from the Citroen DS19 to Miura SV.

-Dave

Edited December 3, 2005 by mr50bmg

[Kimbers]

Dave I have an issue with what you and teigan say (suprise that me and teigan disagree). Without the publicity it is highly likely that the US market wouldn't have been attractive enough for Lotus to go into in the first place. therefore neither of you would have a Lotus. As it was Lotus was in and out of the US all through the 70's and 80's and my dads life was enveloped by trying to make a go of it out there.

Off the back of the Pretty Woman film Lotus saw a huge surge in orders jut when they were considering withdrawing due to losses being made. As an industry professional I have to say that the only way to increase sales in the US is a massive publicity drive and if you don't want to spend $2 million a week in advertising then what could be cheaper than 1 film, 1 car at

[WayneB]

Been reading the Ferrari slagging and found a picture of my fave , the 365GTB/4 or Daytona as it is always called.

Funny thing is I have actually worked on and driven this very car

Its one of the most beautiful and brutal cars ever built. Like the 250GTO, 275 GTB/4 the 250 Lusso, 246GTB Dino, 308 GTB, and the 512 Testa Rossa aswell.

The cars are great, its some of the owners I dont like