1983-87 Lotus Esprit

by Stephen Serio

Limited volume manufacturers such as Lotus occasionally have monumental turning points. The introduction of the Turbo Esprit in 1983 suddenly provided Lotus enthusiasts with the opportunity to drive a car that was faster than a scalded cat, still had the proverbial glued-to-the-road Lotus handling and was actually reliable. For $47,984 you could own a car with the ability to sprint from 0-60 in 6.6 seconds, its 2.2-litre, 4 cylinder, dohc and twin Dell’Orto-carbed motor producing 210 bbp. The Bosch K-Jetronic injection introduced in 1986 added ten more horsepower, to 220 bhp, and shaved one second off its 0-60 sprint time. The price crept up to $55,142 (almost $1,000 per horsepower), and the removable sunroof became standard in 1986. Prior to the Turbo Esprit, the American public had been unduly fed a meal of “rolling prototypes” during the first gestation of the Esprit. In my opinion, the extraordinarily poor build quality of the 1975-80 cars has unfairly...