The Lotus Esprit File

Brief Year by Year History of the Esprit

1975 - Worldwide introduction of Esprit S1, powered by the Lotus Type 907 engine. 1977 

- Lotus Esprit featured in James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me".

1978 - Introduction of Lotus Esprit S2.

1980 - Esprits are uprated with 2.2 liter engine and chassis guaranteed for 5 years. 

- Turbo Esprit introduced to the U.K. market with 210 BHP and revised suspension. 

1981 - Esprit S3 introduced for U.K. market. Uses chassis of the Turbo Esprit. 

- Turbo Esprit featured in James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only". 

- Lotus cars are not imported to U.S. during 1981 -1982. 

1983 - Importation of Lotus cars resumes to U.S. market. Introduction of Turbo Esprit to U.S. 

1988 - Heavily revised Esprit Turbo with new body and interior is introduced. Body construction stronger and formed with VARI process.

1989 - Esprit Turbo receives electronic Multi-port Fuel Injection (MPFI), distributorless ignition and stronger gearbox with improved gear ratios. - Esprit Turbo SE is introduced with 280 BHP chargecooled engine.

1990 - Lotus Cars USA campaigns team of Esprit Turbo SE's in SCCA World Challenge Cup. 4 wins (out of 8 races); two 1-2 wins; 6 pole positions. 

1992 - Doc Bundy, driving the Lotus Sport X180R, takes the Driver's title in USA national sports car series (Bridgestone Potenza Supercar). Tom Langeberg wins Dutch Production Car Series in Lotus Esprit 

- Launch at NEC of Esprit Sport 300: -- the highest performance Lotus to date. Bases on the X180R, the Sport 300 blends racetrack performance with road manners in a dramatic variant of the classic Lotus Esprit shape.

1993 - Lotus Esprit S4 introduced -- new elegant bodyshell encloses dynamic improvements such as power steering (standard).

- Lotus Esprit Sport 300 goes into production 

- Two Lotus Esprit Sport 300s race at Le Mans -- first works-supported entry for over 30 years. 

1994 - Lotus Esprit Sport 300 driven by Thorkild Thyrring wins the British National GT series. 

- Esprit S4s announced at Birmingham Motor Show -- 300 hp peak power in S4-based body, with new wheels, Michelin tires, and revised suspension settings to suit increased performance.

1995 - Lotus Esprit sales worldwide buck static market, recording an 11% increase in the first six months against previous year. 

1996 - At the Geneva Auto Show Lotus introduces the Esprit V8, powered by a purpose-built Lotus V8 engine. The 3.5 liter, twin-turbocharged unit produces 350 hp at 6500 rpm and 295 lb ft of torque at 4250 rpm. The engine is impressively small, fitting comfortably inside a cube 28" high, 28" wide and 24" long with all ancillaries in place. Of modular design, the engine can support a 4-liter naturally aspirated version as well as a family of V6 and four-cylinder engines.

- All new Lotus Espirt GT1 car (type number 114) is unveiled at the Paul Ricard circuit for the first race of the 1996 GT series. The new racer features the Lotus V8 engine, a new six-speed racing transmission, F1-sytel aerodynamics, carbon brakes, and is down to the 900kg minimum weight limit. After showing early promise, the car retires due to aä fractured exhaust.

- The Lotus GT Team finishes a credible second at the Silverstone round of the BPR Global Endurance series. 

1997 - Lotus debuts its Espirt V8 PPG Pace Car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The car includes O.Z. Racing. wheels, Euro headlamps and a unique PPG paint containing special translucent particles held in suspension, allowing the paint to change color from black to gold as light conditions vary. 

- The Lotus Esprit V8 earns an Exceptional Merit Award in teh Robb Report Exotic Car of the Year balloting. 

- Lotus Cars USA dedicates a new 31,000 square-foot headquarters building at 500 Marathon Parkway in Lawrenceville, GA. 

1998 Lotus Esprit V8 debuts at the London Motorshow with a revised interior, improved shift mechanism, twin-plate clutch and new ABS system. A GT version of the V8 also debuts. 

- Group Lotus terminates its agreement with GT1 Racing Ltd. GT1 ran the Type 115, and Elise- based GT-1 race car, in the FIA GT Championship. Plagued by a sanctioning body ruling which made the Lotus V8 turbo engine uncompetitive, the GT1 team switched to a 6.0-liter normally aspirated V8 as the 1997 season began, but never recovered.

1998 - The 1998 Esprit V8 is unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show. A restyled interior, new climate control unit, twin-plate clutch with revised hydraulic actuation, modified gearbox and selector mechanism, refined ABS system, new windshield wiper design, and upgraded alarm round out the changes. 

- The Birmingham Motor Show is the setting for the launch of The Esprit Sport 350, with a lightened bodyshell, a carbon fiber rear wing and side fins developed for the Type 115 GT-1 race car, and magnesium O.Z. wheels. It is painted in a distinctive aluminum color with blue highlights and features blue cam covers on its 3.5 Liter Lotus V8 engine.

1999 - The Esprit 350 Sport is released boasting the lightest magnesium wheel in production today, a carbon fibre wing, upgraded brakes and a large weight saving over the V8. No power increase still having the 350bhp of the V8

2002 - The Esprit gets a Facelift for 2002, new wheels and rear light cluster are the main changes. Replaces V8-SE & V8-GT to leave just one model on sale at a reduced price of £49,995. US Market gets an 25th Anniversery model with centre exit exhaust.

Esprit Picture History

	ITALDESIGN CONCEPT CAR: Commissioned by Colin Chapman to pop up Lotus's image. Created in double quick time on a Europa chassis. The Esprit wows crowds at 1972's Turin Show. Giugiaro wanted to call it Kiwi because of its long nose.
	ITALDESIGN PROTOTYPE: By Genova 1973, the Esprit's look is set. The bonnet louves are gone, you no longer have to tilt the entire engine cover back to get at the engine and there's a midrift ridge where the body halves are bonded.
	ESPRIT S1: Paris show 1975, and the production Esprit is revealed to the world. It's powered by Lotus' own 2.0-litre, all aluminium engine, mounted in the middle in supercar mode. Technical hitches keep it off sale until summer '76. Production: 1976-77 Units: 714
	JAMES BOND'S ESPRIT: The Esprit S1 found its filming glory as a submarine and glamour wagon in the 1977 James bond epic 'The Spy Who Loved Me'. The Ski-laden Turbo appeared in the early eighties epic 'For Your Eyes Only' starring Roger Moore once again and the venues were Corfu and Cortina D'Ampezzo rather than the underwater world.
	ESPRIT S2: Using valuable feedback from its test team, the customers. Lotus revamps the Esprit in 1978 with improved ventilation, engine access and cosmetic changes to the cockpit, and Rover SD1 tail lights. Ditching the Wolfrace wheels helps to lessen the kit car look. Production: 1978-81 Units: 1,060
	ESPRIT S2 WORLD CHAMPION: Mario Andretti wins the Formula One World Championship in a Lotus in 1978, so a Commemorative Edition of the Esprit duly appears. Black-and-gold livery mimics the John Player Special colours of the grand prix cars. Production: 1978-79 Units: 147
	ESPRIT S2.2: Type number becomes engine capacity in 1980, when engine grows from 1973cc to 2175cc. Still a noisy car, though, partly because the engine is bolted solidly to the chassis so the driveshaft can act as a suspension arm. Production: 1980-81 Units: 88
	TURBO ESPRIT: Now we're cooking. Blow through the twin Dellorios with a turbo, and 160bhp becomes 210. Saves developing a bigger engine, too. First examples (1980) come in gaudy livery of shadowy Lotus sugar-daddy Essex Petroleum. Production: 1980-87 Units: 1,537
	ESPRIT S3: The Turbo is smoother and quieter with its popular rear suspension, as a year later, in 1981, the regular Esprit gets the Turbo's chassis with the same system. Lotus has always claimed that the Esprit would do 135mph, S3 finally cracks it. Production: 1981-87 Units: 767
	TURBO ESPRIT HC: Bigger carburettors, and a higher compression ratio releases more thrust for 1986, and bits that were black become body-coloured. The cleaner looks point the way to the following years major Esprit re-design. Production: 1986-87 Units: 528
	ESPRIT TURBO: it's 1987 and the words are now reversed. Peter Stevens designs a new rounder body, clearly related to Giugiaro's original but rounded out to convey a muscular mood. Citroen SM gearbox is replaced by Renault 25 unit. Production: 1987-90 Units: 1,207
	ESPRIT NA: The same year sees the simplest Esprit name of all, applied to the new-look Turbo's normally-aspirated stablemate. Tell it from the Turbo by its simpler rear valance, with two grilles instead of a giant under bumper air exit. Few sold. Production: 1987-89 Units: 268
	ESPRIT SE: Emissions rules mean in 1989 it's goodbye to the snorting Dellories, hello to fuel injection and a water-cooled chargecooler, and a heady 264bhp. Numerous suspension tweaks keep it channelled in the right direction. New nose to incorperate the coolers. A/C, leather and electric everything help give the SE its name 'Special Equipment'. Production: 1989-91 Units: 1,546
	ESPRIT X180R: Racing Esprits blitz US tracks during 1992, with Paul Newman among the drivers. SE based X180R (X180 is the Esprit code name within Lotus) delivers 335bhp. Similar cars compete in Europe, a 2.0-litre version in Italy. Production: 1991-92 Units: 20 (USA only)
	ESPRIT SE HIGH WING: Esprit gets it's most radical wing to date along with a revised front bib increasing the top speed to 165mph. A repacketage interior provides extra space. The SE now has a 'CAT' and runs only on Unleaded fuel. The High Wing was the only model Lotus produced in 1992 after the Elan was killed off. Production: 1992-93 Units: 62
	ESPRIT S4: New look for 1993 has five-spoke wheels, a curvier front, air intake and side scoops, slim indicators from the Elan, new door handles, and a rear spoiler moved forward. Suspension is improved, power steering is standard, engine stays at 264bhp. Interior updated from the Vauxhall parts bin. Production: 1993-96 Units: 622
	ESPRIT SPORT 300 : 1993 sees the roadgoing version of the X180R, lightened, stripped-out (still with power steering) and delivering 302bhp. Split rim wheels and monster tail-spoiler gives a clue to 162mph top speed and 4.5 second 0-60 time. Production: 1993 Units: 64
	ESPRIT S4S: Yet another comination of available parts: S4 gains Sport 300's wheel arch eyebrows and that mad rear spoiler for 1995. It's destined to be the last 2.2-litre, luxury-trimmed Esprit Turbo, because Lotus is finally readying its new V8 engine. Production: 1995-96 Units: 332
	ESPRIT V8: Lotus has planned a V8 for the Esprit since the late 1970s. Finally it's here for 1996, but not in tis original form (which went to the Corvette ZR-1). This one is 3506cc, delivers 350bhp, has twin turbos, sounds flat and has a seriously heavy clutch. Production: 1996-99 Units: 435
	ESPRIT GT3: it's late 1996, and the four-cylinder Turbo is not dead yet. Reduced to 2.0-litre and 240bhp, it powers the stripped-out, (relatively) bargain-priced GT3. There's no wood, no leather, just a techno feel and the better for it. Production: 1996-98 Units: 196
	ESPRIT V8 GT : For 1998 the V8 getss a new twin-plate clutch for lower pedal effort, and a much needed quicker gearshift. All Esprits finally get a modern interior. The V8 GT, essentially a V8 with GT3 trim. Production: 1998-2000 Units: 204
	ESPRIT V8 SE: As the less well trimmed and 10k cheaper GT is launched with a new interior, its big brother, with leather, A/C and a spoiler is re-badged the V8 SE. Production: 1998-2000 Units: 674
	ESPRIT SPORT 350 : Special Edition Racing Esprit, light magisium wheels, carbonfibre spoiler, front spliter, uprated AP brakes, modifed ECU. 80kg of weight saving produces the fastest ever Esprit and the most expensive at £65,000. Production: 1999 Units: 42
	ESPRIT V8: New for 2002, the Esprit has 350 brakes and front blip, new split-rim alloys, round rear lights. Inside sees two-tone leather seats with an embossed lotus logo and aluminium theme incorperating the gearknob, handbrake and doortrim. Basically a V8-SE with new lights and wheels for V8-GT money. The last Esprit. Production: 2002-2003 Units: 250

Year	Lotus Esprit Models												Esprit Total
	N/A	Turbo	HCPI	GMP4	INTRCL	S4	S300	S4s	V8	V8GT	S350	GT3
1976*	134												134
1977*	580												580
1978*~	553												553
1979~	474												474
1980~	80	57											137
1981~^	185	116											301
1982^	160	205											365
1983^	84	343											427
1984^	104	418											522
1985^	127	262	62										451
1986^	72	136	246										454
1987#	78	186	198										462
1988	176	387	375	120									1058
1989	90	103		121	563								877
1990	22	51		8	698								779
1991		9		3	113								125
1992		1			172	4	1						178
1993					62	233	25						320
1994						339	30	1					370
1995						46	8	331					385
1996						3		30	260			26	319
1997								5	175	2		97	279
1998									142	99		60	301
1999									123	35	39	13	210
2000									171	48	8		222
2001									81	20	1		101
2002									157				157
2003									119				119
2004									16				16
	2919	2274	881	252	1608	625	64	367	1237	204	42	196	10675

* = Esprit N/A Series 1
~ = Esprit N/A Series 2
^ = Esprit N/A Series 3
# = Start of X180 Body Shape (Peter Stevens)

Turbo – Cars with Turbo (Garratt T3) and Dell'orto Carburettors (early cars had twin 40's and later cars had twin 45's)

HCPI   – Cars with Turbo and Bosch 'K' Jetronic Fuel Injection (compression ratio was increased hence the HC)

GMP4 – Cars with General Motors (GM) Fuel Injection (Delco Electronics ECU)
GMP4 – Similar Engine spec to HCPI but with more sophisticated control system to meet stricter USA emissions requirements
GMP4 – (has on board diagnostics ability)

INTRCL – Cars with GMP4 Injection and fitted with an Intercooler (water to air) to increase Power.

From Lotus
'As for production figures for HC Giugiaro we are looking at a figure of 308 which will also include Bosch injected cars but it is difficult to give an accurate breakdown of how many were non injected. '

Esprit's imported to North America through Lotus Cars USA, Inc total as follows:

1997 = 132
1998 = 95
1999 = 113 (Esprit V8)
1999 = 8 (Sport 350)
2000 = 91
2001 = 97
2002 = 100
Total = 636 (Dave Simkin, Lotus Cars USA)

Essex Production NumbersInformation from Lotus Cars Ltd

Essex Commemorative Lotus Esprit Turbo
45 Cars were built / used as Essex Units
UK Spec. – 31 Cars (4 Development, 4 Pre. Production & 23 Production)
Export Spec. – 14 Cars (3 Development & 11 Production)
No USA Spec. Cars were produced.

Sport 350 Production Numbers
Information from Lotus Cars Ltd
The original Proposal was to build no more than 50 cars (to keep the model exclusive) All the unique parts were ordered to a maximum of 50 (this included enough of some parts to satisfy Service needs where necessary) Production build totalled 42 cars.

I can confirm this as we ordered 50 sets of 'AP Racing' Blue Front Calipers. At a stock check earlier this year we had 8 sets in stock subsequently used on some Japanese spec. cars. The last of which goes on line next week. I also confirmed the figure by checking the Engine build records:- Between 30th Nov. 1998 (first engine) and 24th Jan. 2000 (last engine) 42 Production engines were built plus 1 for Service stock.

So in all 42 genuine Sport 350 cars were produced at the factory.

UK Registered Esprits
(Source: DfT 2004) by Carl Charlesworth

Since looking at the production figures for the Esprit I was fascinated to know how many are actually left on UK roads. In my case, the S4, I knew that it had to be a lot less than 300. After joining the Lotus Esprit forum recently I decided to pull my finger out and do some chasing around to see what was available. After a week of chasing around different contacts I finally got a useful response from DVLA with a contact number on it. I called them up and spoke to a very helpful chap. After some initial confusion on exactly what figures I wanted he said he understood and still believed he could provide the information I required via email in a couple of hours. Sure enough a few hours later I received the email with the following stats.
I did not provide him with the Esprit types, he was able to list the different versions he had registered.

These are the DVLA numbers of Lotus Esprits registered in the UK during 2004.

Lotus Esprit	397
Lotus Esprit Turbo	386
Lotus Esprit Series 3	1
Lotus Esprit Turbo SE	103
Lotus Esprit Turbo	21
Lotus Esprit S Turbo	4
Lotus Esprit Turbo S4	94
Lotus Esprit Sport 300	7
Lotus Esprit S4s	56
Lotus Esprit V8 Turbo	172
Lotus Esprit GT3	107
Lotus Esprit V8-GT	89
Lotus Esprit Sport 350	25
All Lotus Esprit vechicles	1462
Source: DfT

U.S. 1993 Esprit SE

93MY Esprit Turbo SEThe 93MY SE was only imported into the US and limited to 62 cars. It has the majority of the 92MY changes but also included the following changes:

* A larger SE style rear wing, similar to the standard SE wing, but taller and at more of an angle.
* Except for commemorative editions, the 1993MY was the first USA Stevens' model without the glassback design.
* Revolution alloy 5-spoke wheels in painted black with a polished silver lip. These are one-piece clones/imitations of the 16" three-piece wheels found on the X180R race variant and street version limited edition.
* A front rubber lip spoiler to protect the underside of the front valance.

93-1/2MY Esprit Turbo SEThe 931/2MY (93.5) was a transition into the later S4 and was once again only available in the US. It included the following changes:

* Passenger side airbag
* S4-style interior with (slightly) more head, leg, and shoulder room. Window controls mounted on the center console.
* Flush, body-colored, vertically operating exterior door handles instead of the old black horizantal operating handles.
* Wider opening doors.
* A clutch line that routed across the front of the transmission to the passenger's side. The 93 runs straight back the driver's side.

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