[PICS] 1986 Lotus Factory Tour

[TLF News]

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[rudolphwolven]

Very nice picture thread.......

Thank you very much for sharing!

Regards, Ruud

[stephenwhyte]

Great photos thanks for sharing!👍 Interestingly my Turbo Esprit was sold from Norfolk Motor Co. back in 1982.......great to see a period photo of the showroom from the 80’s😎

[Royal]

Cheers for sharing that Roy. It’s great to see the old pics of the factory. Nice bit of nostalgia.

[silverfrost]

Many thanks for posting, some fantastic pictures to look at,  Would love one of those steel four wheeled bodyshell carriers 

One of the pictures shows an Essex with BBS alloywheels fitted ?    

[TpupNomad]

Glad you enjoyed it. 👍

[slewthy]

Thats great. My S3 is a 1986 car. I guess it might have been completed by the time you took the tour but it could have been amongst those images! -I know it was the first black S3 out of the factory that year

[Bazza 907]

On 11/11/2018 at 00:55, silverfrost said:

Many thanks for posting, some fantastic pictures to look at,  Would love one of those steel four wheeled bodyshell carriers 

One of the pictures shows an Essex with BBS alloywheels fitted ?    

Agree, really interesting to see the pictures.

Not an Essex though but a homage. Looks like a 1985 car judging by the registration 'C' registration and colour coded bumpers. 

[Steve1]

In the summer of 1986 when I was meer 12 year old I remember going to Norfolk Motor Company with my Mother and Father. My dad was going to take the plunge again and buy another Lotus. In the showroom was a ice blue Esprit S3 with a private plate. After a morning there and sitting in that Essex Turbo and trying to convince my father to buy it he walk away leaving a small deposit on the Esprit. Unfortunately it never arrived because being at the time he owned a Renault 5 Gordini Turbo, and then a week after seeing the Esprit the local Renault salesman just happened to pop round with there ex demo car which he ended buying.... I suppose it was more practical in the end and it was cool in the hot hatch world, but Ive never forgot that Oh so nearly Esprit....😫

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

That's a GT Turbo (Phase 1?), not the earlier Gordini Turbo. I bet there aren't many left like that nowadays. Pearlescent white?

Edit: just re-read your post. So the GT Turbo replaced the Gordini Turbo?

Edited November 19, 2018 by LotusLeftLotusRight

[Steve1]

1 minute ago, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

That's a GT Turbo (Phase 1?), not the earlier Gordini Turbo. I bet there aren't many left like that nowadays. Pearlescent white?

Yes, your right....He had a Gordini Turbo which he bought brand new in 84 after trading in his Elite and part ex for this GT Turbo... it was one of the first in the country though... pearl white😁

[dodgey_rog]

I saw the picture from Norfolk Motor Company, looks like an Esprit the old man supplied, C52 KPU. Looks like a Turbo with Essex decals, as the interior is grey/blue?

 

Very cool to see those pics by the way.

[chipp]

@Steve1

My father in law had an ice blue around that time in Norwich with plate 71 JAC, now wouldn't that be a coincidence.

 

chipp

[Steve1]

How cool though is this..... the fact that over 30 years on people still remember these exact cars. Shows what a impression Lotus leaves on you. Oberviously Lotus has never been a massed produce car company, but the fact that so many cars they have produced, they are either remembered by previous owners or they knew someone that owned that car. It just makes all of them that little bit more special....

[slewthy]

On 29/11/2018 at 15:16, dodgey_rog said:

I saw the picture from Norfolk Motor Company, looks like an Esprit the old man supplied, C52 KPU. Looks like a Turbo with Essex decals, as the interior is grey/blue?

 

Very cool to see those pics by the way.

Well mine is C41 KPU so very close!

[dodgey_rog]

Yours was the ex Trebor car wasn't it?

[slewthy]

Um, not sure what that is?