Wide body Diablo headlight esprit, wow, exotic look!

[Paul C]

Sure i've seen this before, but could not find an old thread to dig up. Photo's are not mega clear but as you can see, the guy has successfully grafted Lamborghini lights on and big arches, sills, and splitters.

Nice.

Full owner page here:

http://www.lotusespritworld.co.uk/EOwners/NicholasShen.html

[Advantage]

From his garage page on LEW:

Upgrades:Countless & now in wide body form with lambo diablo headlights upgrade

Problems:

Cam leak. Currently top overhaul

Info:

Objective is to keep the car as original as possible

I like the last one.

[Mark Blanchard]

Spotted this on LEW yesterday. Success is a strong word. There is little about that car that is successful IMO.

[Paul C]

I don't see any problem, it's his car and some real work and effort will have gone into that work. I have never had a problem with folk modifiying their Esprits away from factory originality, this once ordinary carb turbo is now looking pretty exotic, i'll wager this guy is thinking the same as me at this point:

Lambo doors.

[Advantage]

Lambo doors.

It'd be quite nice to see the car in the flesh and have a poke around it, as it's always good to see other's work (and nick any of their good ideas!).

[Paul C]

We are assuming it does not already have lambo doors mate, he might have already done that. But as that would look so awesome i'm sure he'd feature a shot with them up. If the doors were done then the next step would be white leather (piped in red) and white carpets (again with red piped edges). I love the all white interior Countachs i have seen.

I like this much better than Karls one, but if i saw Karls in a non pastel colour (eg red like this one) then i might change my mind as it's the whole 'my little pony' blue that has always turned me off, the work itself is of course excellent, and akin to Karl, very individual.

[lrg_machine]

From his owners page on LEW

"Objective is to keep the car as original as possible!"

Errrmmmm!

The works probably top notch, but not to my taste!

[rogerch]

I'm with Mark.

[Mark Blanchard]

this once ordinary carb turbo is now looking pretty exotic

It's all subjestive I know and if you're into the max-power thing it probably looks great, but to me it's just looks like a pill of dump.

[Newts]

Strange that my first thoughts of the frontal shots where that it looked like a Nissan 300 and then ironically Roger compared it to the back of a modified one, not an improvement in my eyes, but as I've said before; beauty is in the eye's of the beholder

Edited May 23, 2010 by Newts

[karmavore]

Body work is OK, very Touring Car. Very 90s. The lights I hate. I don't get why people do this, unless maybe its a real endurance car.

I'm all for cutting up Esprits. Its a fun and cheep exotic platform.

[Tony94S4]

those r 300zx headlights

thats what expensive $$$ diablo uses and many other cheap parts

and they make fun of esprit using toyota lights lol

Edited May 23, 2010 by Tony94S4

[ramjet]

Well I can safely say I'm not much on the esprit. Just doesn't work for me.

As for Roger's pic of the 300ZX, I personally can not believe that even the owner thinks that looks good.

[sky_cz]

OMG, why people doing this to own cars?

[Jonathan]

I don't see the point in taking a thoroughbred car and turning it into a kitcar myself but each to their own.

[Paul C]

OMG, why people doing this to own cars?

This guy knows why:

I'm all for cutting up Esprits. Its a fun and cheep exotic platform.

He's right of course, Lotus cars are never going to be £150,000 daytonas where originality is worth everything and a wrong panel, seat, non original paint, interior or the wrong wheels chops tens of thousands off the value. There are very few all original stevens cars now, most have later wheels, later spoilers, many have later seats, later glassless decks, '02 light conversions etc.

The point is, 100% original they are not worth a fortune and messing with them does not automatically devalue the car, for example:

Take a mint original SE turbo, oz wheels, glass back, stock everything.

ok?

Now take an SE of the same year but with V8 wheels, s4 engine cover, S4s spoiler and sport 300 seats.

As originality is unimportant to the esprit market the 2nd car will always be worth more today and in ten years time. Lotus's have been knocking around long enough now for the 'originality/value/rare/worth more' people to be proved right, but we still see S1's chopped up to make drag cars and S2's with turbo bodykits, and S3's chopped to buggery to form an engine project that never gets finished due to 'unforseen' issues, only for the car to end up another Ebay basketcase. They have been bargain basement supercars for as long as i have held a license.

Originality is whimsically lamented by some but actually worth bugger all really. People have an image of what they want an Esprit to look like, and that image rolls with the times. S1 and S2 cars tend to stay original in the main, but a very low proportion of later cars do as there is no damage done "I'm all for cutting up Esprits. Its a fun and cheep exotic platform" is very fair, if the carb turbo this guy started with was valued at £100,000 by coys then he'd either have never got to own it, or kept it as is, or sold it. But even if it was a mint Esprit, it was a ten grand used car and he's enjoyed what he's done to the point he's proud enough to make an owners page.

Very few people commenting on this guy have a factory original car, so who sets the benchmark where it's cool for me to do this, but not for him to do that?

The chopping about and modding of Esprit models will (IMO) make the S1 Elise the first future classic since the original climax Elites.

[silverfrost]

and S3's chopped to buggery to form and engine project that never gets finished due to 'unforseen' issues, only for the car to end up another Ebay basketcase.

Paul,

I hope this happens to more esprits personally, gives me the chance to buy more! One that note im on my second V8 conversion and they always get finished! Im all for mods on the cars, owners choice, each to their own you pays your money you make your choice!

Regards danny

[Nelly]

_{Paul, thats an excellent assessment.}

_{Your comment about "bargain basement" is so true, its the reason I have an Esprit, but thats a huge plus in my book.}

_{My S2 will never be original, simply because my car needs a retrim and Markasite is no longer available. So, faced with that, its tempting to then think about putting your own stamp on the car. I'm not saying thats why this guy did what he did, but keeping any car original gets harder as the years go on. The cars value then turns from financial to what it means to its owner.}

_{BYW - I think the headlights look awful, but then I did on the Diablo as well.}

Edited May 23, 2010 by Nelly9000

[Mark Blanchard]

I'm not sure the issue is originality though. Minor modifications are fine and are common on many classic cars, even the £100,000 brigade. Old 70s Astons V8's are often dressed up as mid 80s Vantages and still sell for a premium. And some major modifacations can look good too.

I think for me it's more about purity of line I have the issue with. There's an old saying in the design world, "Less is more." And think that applies to cars too. But that's just my opinion .

[Advantage]

What that wide body car needs is the sills painting a different colour. Perhaps grey?

[sky_cz]

I think there r mixed 2 words MODDED and TUN(Z)ED and there is big difference.

[karmavore]

Very few people commenting on this guy have a factory original car, so who sets the benchmark where it's cool for me to do this, but not for him to do that?

So true, Paul.

I'm sure that if this were some factory racer (save the "lambo doors) or a privateer car with a pedigree many of these same folks would be all over it (I'm looking at you Jonathan .

If you think it's ugly, Mr. Origional, fine. I think your S1 is ugly!

There, I said it. Let’s move on.

[Jonathan]

I do hope we're not comparing the two cars ?

All this original vs modded malarky is just that - BS

It boils down to the fact 99% of 'modded' cars can be retured to their original state with very little expsense or effort. Wheels and a spoiler - yup that car's ruined now for sure

Besides, no-ones talking about originality or value, people are simply saying they dont like what's been done.

On a whole it doesn't look all in all bad, I've seen a LOT worse but what I dont get is why you'd take a car like an Esprit and un-make it and destroy the lines / features ?

In a way it's a little like those MR2 clones you see on the Kit car thread, the car's a good car as it is without errasing it's identity. As a fan of the marque and the car it's impossible to simply sit back and make not even the slightest objection. He's free to mod it sure, I'm free to not like it !

The difference between something totally removed from being an esprit and a homage to the racing original is chalk vs cheese.

[karmavore]

I do hope we're not comparing the two cars ?

Well, yeah... why not? I think they're both great. Ok, maybe this one isn't GREAT, but yours is. Anyway, are they so different? If you had told me this was a 1994 LeMans car I'd believed you.

On a whole it doesn't look all in all bad, I've seen a LOT worse but what I dont get is why you'd take a car like an Esprit and un-make it and destroy the lines / features ?

1) I think this car is equally removed, if not less so, than your replica. I don't mean that as a criticism (see my earlier post) and I think many would agree

2) To answer your question: creativity. People want to exercise it -- how many of us wish we could be professional car designers? -- and they're aren't many well-engineered, well-performing, mid-engine cars at a reasonible price point. The MR2 being the other.

[USAndretti42]

Stumbled across a magazine last week. I think it was called "Retro" or something like that. The important thing is that it was a magazine dedicated to modified classics so modifying old cars is now mainstream.

If it's still as nice to drive as the original, why not? And it helps to drive up the value of the those that retain their originality.