Lotus Esprit comments

[Venom Lover]

I also am a former Lotus owner, though of the 4-cylinder variety. (See below -- '90 SE on left, '87 Turbo HCI on right.) I also visited the factory in Hethel (during the 50th anniversary celebration). When I was getting out of the 2.2L business, I was fairly convinced I would be buying a V8 Esprit. I sold the '87 and drove 5 V8's (1998s and 1999s). I concluded my 1990 SE was almost as fast (I had the S4S chip in it -- 300 bhp in overboost, but a 2700 lb car vs. the heavier S4S). Anyway, theoretically that made it a mid 4-sec 0-60 car, but the POS French gearbox precluded ever attaining such performance. NB: The same POS gearbox is used for the V8 Esprit.

Bottom line: after driving a number of V8s, hoping that I would find one that would make me think I needed a V8, and failing to find one, I test drove a Viper out of desperation. It was a 1994 that was beat to hell. 30 seconds into the test drive, I knew I needed a Viper. I drove a Ferrari 355 and 512TR just to be sure, but I ended up with the '97 GTS Viper. You will also, unless you don't really care about performance!

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[Tpup]

I have owned several Esprits and drove a new V8 on Saturday. I own a GTS, a 911 Cab and just purchased a Lotus Exige setup for track use. I thought the Esprit was more refined than my GTS but it did not feel as fast in the low end. MT did a 1/4 mile test last year where the Esprit was 2nd to the Viper. The stock Esprit is 350HP, however, the engine is capable of well over 500. A new ECU can get you a lot more power, however, the transmission and drive shafts have some trouble with it.

As to the comments regarding service, I had less trouble with my last Esprit than I have had with my 1,700 mile GTS. Don't get me wrong, I love my GTS, but the claim that a modern day Lotus is like the 70's version is like compairing a 70's Dodge to a modern one.

Good luck. I know a bunch of folks at Lotus and would be happy to introduce you if you want.

Roy

 

[Ulysses]

One of my friends has a '99 Esprit. Nice looking car especially with the wing. Same body style as the older 4 cylinders, but with the wing it definitely gets attention. Sounds nice when you get on it. Cost was approximately 99K. Riding in it, it has nice get up and go from a rolling start. 0-60 times are a bit slower than the Viper but not by much. Riding in it, it feels fast but just doesn't have that raw power feeling of a Viper. Interior looks very plush with the right color combination.

 

[Ray R]

I'm 6'4" tall. The only Lotus I've found that I could fit in was an Elise (no top). And even then, my legs were cramped. So I got a Vette ZR1 ('95..LT5 designed by Lotus). It fits me fine as does my '00 GTS (after Northwind's 2" seat lowering kit and Sean Roe's clutch pedal kit). I also tried Ferrari (328,512BBi,TR) ...again, a hard mark to fit into. To my surprise, the new 360 Modena fits really well. Maybe after the hype wears off (and so does the inflated prices!) Porsche also fits tall folks pretty well. But as Jon mentioned, maintenance on the Euro marks is astronomical! But others will argue that when you pay that kind of money for a car, maintenance costs should not matter. I like the Viper because I feel pretty comfortable doing my own maintenance. I would hesitate on the others. Just my $.02 worth of rambling!

By the way....nice Lotus picture above!!!(or is it "Loti"?..."Lotuses"?)