Sport 300 + Brands Hatch = Magic

[Bibs]

I was lucky enough to spend yesterday afternoon down at Brands with Rob Durrant and his Sport 300. I was luckier still to be taken out for a couple of sessions on the MSV trackday and see first hand what a solid piece of engineering and design the Esprit is. Rob is a Caterham instructor so knows how to handle a car and that was very much prevalent with some superb driving. He's a very experienced driver and really enjoyed the Esprit on track which is a testament to it's ability as well as his.

I did, as you can imagine, take some pics and will upload some video from Rob's in car camera as soon as I have that too

Check these out...

http://www.glcforum.com/bibs/rdurrant/

Some samples

[Mark Blanchard]

Nice pics Bibs!! Very arty shots inside, and how mean does that S300 look!!

[Rob]

Looks awesome dude!

[Kimbers]

Robs an interesting guy, spoke to him at LOTR Brands event. Great Pics, bet he didn't let you drive! After all he wouldn't want it returne broken and with stone chips all over it now would he!!

[Mark Blanchard]

How about putting a few of them in the Photo Gallery?

IMG_2022 looks awsome .

[rens914]

Nice pictures

did he do all the driving or did you change places

allways nice to have somebody next to you who tells you were you can gain a little

especially sombody who knows the car and the track

rens

[SE Owner :-D]

sick man - sick

[Jonathan]

Great stuff - having fun with the new camera as well I see

[mayevora]

Bibsy - I am sure I reciently heard somebody telling me that they wouldn't get into a Sport 300 because, they would for sure want one afterwards. Ring any bells?

I will always want one after my drive two months ago.

[ajax317]

I've just cobbled together a quick compilation of some clips I spotted whilst crunching the video, avalable for a limited time only here! Apologies to anyone who's not as big a Eurovision fan as I am for the soundtrack, once Bibs has the footage I'm sure things will improve

[fmxa]

Now that's nice, if only we could get them over here!

[wiseraven]

It's true, the internet really is full of porn! Great pics, great video, awesome car. Me want, me want.

[Vulcan Grey]

Now that's nice, if only we could get them over here!

Ah but we have the X180-R... Though only 20, and 2 are here in Colorado. They don't have that over there!

[Bibs]

Brilliant video Rob, I enjoyed that

[shadeone]

holy S**T!!!!

those pics are amazing and so is that car! makes me happy that i got a set of sport 300 wheel arches on their way to my house

shade

[jase7678]

Bravo - excellent car, footage and driving. The music was good fun but would you happend to have a version without music so we can hear the engine noise?

I was very impressed by the way you managed to overtake a handfull of BMWs and Porches.

Thanks for posting.

[Bibs]

I've got the raw video I'll extract, compress and upload. Those BMW's included a 350bhp CSL and the Porkers included a GT3 RS. All saw a clean pair of heels

[Jonathan]

Loved the Movie

Great stuff - S300 looks the nuts as well, great sound track ehhee...

Okay here the end..

[rydning]

Realy nice to see that people take this colector edition of a Esprit on the track.

As you can see its a very skilled driver who knows his stuff.

Take a look at the lines he pick compare to the others at that track.

[Loteuk]

Ah but we have the X180-R... Though only 20, and 2 are here in Colorado. They don't have that over there!

There meaning here.......why's that then?

[Vulcan Grey]

There meaning here.......why's that then?

Huh?

Somebody was lamenting the fact that we can't have (didn't get) the Sport 300 here in the states...

But we did get the X180-R... So what's there to lament?

Personally IMO, I'd pick an X180-R over a Sport 300 any day of the week.

X180-R has

Full roll cage, much stiffer than SE or Sport300

same AP racing brakes as Sport 300

ZF racing Limited slip diff

even more rare (20 built as opposed to ~63)

Even if the Sport 300 has larger tires, wheel arch extension, the big wing and the newer style dor handles....

But I definetly appreciate the Sport 300, second only IMO to the X180-R (for Esprit street cars).

And yes I've driven the X180-R and my SE on the street and the track.

[Loteuk]

Huh?

Somebody was lamenting the fact that we can't have (didn't get) the Sport 300 here in the states...

But we did get the X180-R... So what's there to lament?

Personally IMO, I'd pick an X180-R over a Sport 300 any day of the week.

X180-R has

Full roll cage, much stiffer than SE or Sport300

same AP racing brakes as Sport 300

ZF racing Limited slip diff

even more rare (20 built as opposed to ~63)

Even if the Sport 300 has larger tires, wheel arch extension, the big wing and the newer style dor handles....

But I definetly appreciate the Sport 300, second only IMO to the X180-R (for Esprit street cars).

And yes I've driven the X180-R and my SE on the street and the track.

Why was nt the 300 available in the States? Was the 180 available in the UK or was it export only.....

[Vulcan Grey]

Why was nt the 300 available in the States? Was the 180 available in the UK or was it export only.....

There were only 20 X180-R's made (all for the states) to commemorate their racing success.

The Sport 300 is not legal here, never imported by Lotus, no airbags (which were required by 92ish), thinner body shell would have also probably required more crash testing... many reasons. Plus probably to give Europe a special edition like they gave America the X180-R.

[Loteuk]

There were only 20 X180-R's made (all for the states) to commemorate their racing success.

The Sport 300 is not legal here, never imported by Lotus, no airbags (which were required by 92ish), thinner body shell would have also probably required more crash testing... many reasons. Plus probably to give Europe a special edition like they gave America the X180-R.

Dunno if the 300 is a compromise but it does nt compare to a race car. On the road its about as good as a road car can be with the standard power. It goes ok on the track too but can be unpredictable on lift.

Is the 180 a road or track car? The 300 was versed as both and cage fixing points are pre installed for track use. I had a trick box for mine from Lotus but it made it undrivable on the road, everything between 5500 and 7200.

What did the 180 produce in power, I only ask because Lotus must have had to sharpen their pencil for the Fedral Market. Was it the 2.2 unit?

[Vulcan Grey]

The X180-R does not have the bigger inlet valves or the turbo of the Sport 300 & S4s, so power should be closer to the SE. But it is blueprinted. The transmission is also specially hardened, and very tough let me tell you.

The X180-R has the same body shell as my 89 SE, which is to say very thin compared to other years I have felt (89 non SE, and 94's for instance are 3x thicker in places.)

The X180-R is a Type 105 (The other Esprits are all type 82, including the Sport 300), the X180-R race cars is the USA SCCA World Challenge racing series are Type 106.

The 20 X180-R cars were all white and all street legal. I think one was painted black, and that might also be the one with the AC delete and the Chargecooler piped through the AC condenser as well.

They are Street legal in the US.

They were the first to have adjustable camber, same as the Sport 300, the LSD (clutch type ZF rather than the helical gears in the Sport 300). The interior is all black cloth, the roll cage is bolted in. The steering rack was moved and it has anti dive anti squat geometry. The brakes are the Same AP racing as the Sport 300. The wheels are magnesium center 3 piece 16" f&r. Smaller tires and wheels than the Sport 300.

The car sits a little lower than the SE.

Strangely they haven't kept their value like the Sport 300 in Europe, no Esprit does here. There was an illegally imported Sport 300 in AZ that sold for ~$20,000 US recently... A friend bought his '91 X180-R a year and a half ago for ~$42k, it was like brand new with 2000miles on it. Originally I think they went for $127k.

With so many people modifying their Esprits these days, nobody is running the stock power or chips anymore.

One friend with the X180-R here has a T3-T4 hybrid turbo, Sport 300 fuel pump, Marcus' blue race chip, higher fuel pressure, transmission cooler, electric chargecooler pump, bigger injectors, bigger intercooler... Not many cars can keep up with the x180-R at our altitude of 5300ft+, the turbo really helps where the NA's struggle to breathe.