Year of manufacture 1981 Recorded mileage 100,500 Asking price £125,000 Vendor UK Sports Cars, Wingham, Kent; 01227 728190; uksportscars.com WHEN IT WAS NEW Price £20,950 Max power 210bhp Max torque 200lb ft 0-60mph 5.5 secs Top speed 150mph Mpg 21
The Lotus Essex Turbo Esprit arrived in 1980, finished in an arresting colour scheme celebrating a new tie-up with the Lotus Formula One team and Essex Petroleum. The red, blue and chrome livery is a bit less James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me and more Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.
But underneath the revised body and special paintjob, the Turbo meant business. The new 2.2-litre 910 engine featured dry-sump lubrication and was paired with a Garrett T3 turbocharger, delivering 210bhp at 6250rpm and a claimed 0-60mph time of 5.5 secs. It was a big step up from the 2-litre ‘four’ found in the earlier S1 and S2 Esprits, which had lacked oomph compared to period rivals. The leap in performance was enough to ruffle feathers at Maranello and give the Ferrari 308GTB something to worry about, even with the Turbo’s initially high £20,950 price-tag.
There was plenty for buyers to get excited about, too. It looked great on a set of split-rim Compomotive alloy wheels, there was an aerodynamic bodykit with functional NACA ducts on the sills and a louvred tailgate helped to improve cooling. Plus, it had ‘turbo esprit’ written on the nose. Cor!
Inside, there are seats that look as if they’ve been moulded from the Michelin Man’s backside and a driver-centric dashboard behind a two-spoke steering wheel. If you look up, you’ll also spot the somewhat excessive hi-fi unit: the roof-mounted Panasonic Cockpit system is loaded with a cassette deck, FM tuner and sliders for the bass, balance and fader. If you haven��
