The Lotus Esprit was easily the best James Bond car, probably... The DB5 was the original but Bonds white Esprit S1 trumped the classic Aston with its aquatic abilities. The Lotus Esprit doesn't belong underwater though, no, it belongs were it shines... On the tarmac.
In this video Tim takes us on a trip down memory lane to see what all the fuss was about and take this brilliant British Supercar out for a spin.
As Lotus's flagship model for almost three decades, the Esprit was launched in 1976 and remained in production for over a quarter of a century. It received regular refreshment along the way, principally to its original Giorgetto Giugiaro design and, from 1987, to its later Peter Stevens incarnation.
Production of Esprit ran from 1976 to 2004, lasted for an incredible 28 years. Moreover, it rarely showed its age as continuous development kept it updated and competitive. Apart from long life, Esprit was also the most significant Lotus because it lifted the British company to the same league of Ferrari and Porsche, washing away its previous kit-car image.
Having experimented mid-engined technology with Europa, Colin Chapman determined to take a more ambitious approach. The target was clearly to build a rival to Porsche 911 and Ferrari Dino, but it should beat both in handling and at the same time deliver a stunning message in the same way as contemporary supercars like Lamborghini Countach, Maserati Bora or De Tomaso Pantera. To achieve the latter goal, Giorgetto Giugiaro was called to submit a proposal. The on-form Italian design maestro did not disappoint Chapman. He created a sensational design that combined Countach-style wedge profile with simple lines and perfect proportion. It looked every bit like a supercar.
Unfortunately, the supercar look was not backed up by the engine. Lotus originally planned to offer two engines, i.e. an entry-level straight-four and a flagship V8. However, due to financial reasons the V8 did not materialize (until 20 years later), leaving the sole powerplant to be the four-pot engine. The 1973cc unit, designed and built by Lotus itself, was truly state of the art. It had all-alloy construction, twin-cam and 4 valves per cylinder to produce some 160 horsepower, remarkable for its size. Nevertheless, compared with the 3-liter V8 or six-cylinder engines of Ferrari 308GTB (255hp), Lamborghini Urraco P300 (265hp) and Porsche 911 Carrera 3.0 (200hp), it was way less powerful, let alone De Tomaso Pantera with its 350hp American V8. The four-cylinder engine would be the achilles' heel of Esprit for many more years.
But two things saved the game. First, the Esprit weighed less than 1 ton. Colin Chapman's trademark backbone chassis and glass-fiber body shell, as well as the small engine helped the car undercutting its rivals by 200-300 kg. This mean Esprit was pretty accelerative until its lightweight advantage gave way to aerodynamic drag at higher speed. With a 0-60 mph time ranging from 7.5 to the low 8-seconds range, it still failed to match its more powerful rivals, so it took the second thing to save the game - a lower price tag. The original Esprit was priced at £8,000, £2,000 to £5,000 less than its rivals. This justified for its performance loss.
Like all other Lotuses, Esprit had first class handling thanks to its lightweight and excellent chassis balance. Its chassis was wide and low built. Its lightweight engine was mounted longitudinally behind the cockpit and in front of the 5-speed transaxle (which came from Citroen SM). To lower center of gravity, the engine inclined to the left by 45 degrees. It was mounted on a tubular rear subframe together with the rear suspensions which consisted of semi-trailing arms and lower transverse links. Up front, double wishbones provided optimum wheel control. Relatively soft springs brought excellent ride in the tradition of Lotus. Traction, roadholding and braking were all superb. The unassisted steering was quick and precise, if not as sensitive as Elan's. The same went for handling, which induced more understeer than previous Lotuses. In return, you get a more forgiving behaviour at the limit.
Esprit was not very good at being an everyday transport. Its lowness implied a relatively cramped cabin and its floor-mounted seats were difficult to get into. Its fast angle windscreen might look spectacular outside, but it also resulted in poor visibility and serious light reflection. On the run, refinement was hampered by excessive wind noise and engine boom. Luggage space was in short supply as the front was occupied by the spare wheel, leaving a small boot behind the engine. Moreover, Lotus' build quality was some way behind its German and Italian rivals. Many of these flaws would never be sorted out. Like many supercars of the 1970s and early 1980s, Lotus Esprit was not easy to live with.