Wednesday 5th February 2003

Esprit - The History

A potted history of one of the world's legendary sports cars

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[v8thunder]

Does anyone have any idea which style-icon all-British 911-basher will follow? It's sad to see it go.

[jamesc]

It is sad to see the Esprit go; the car is not a classic but a legend!

Dave, this is the best article I have seen on Pistonheads for a long time.

James

[ErnestM]

jamesc said: It is sad to see the Esprit go; the car is not a classic but a legend!

Dave, this is the best article I have seen on Pistonheads for a long time.

James

...one of the best in any automotive media, IMHO...

ErnestM

[joust]

Very conscise history - it's great. For the serious lowdown see www.espritfactfile.com/ and www.lotusespritworld.co.uk/models.html - two excellent resources as well.

J

[LotusV8]

What is he talking about in 99 they stopped the 4 cylinder production. Maybe in the UK, but in the U.S., 4cyl production has been stopped since 96

[katem]

Is there going to be a replacement esprit? or is this the end of the line for good.

[ErnestM]

katem said: Is there going to be a replacement esprit? or is this the end of the line for good.

According to Lotus, they will be keeping the Esprit brand going and we can expect a replacement in "a couple of years". Speculation is all over the map regarding specifications on this car...

...however, Lotus Cars USA has asked for comments about the replacement from existing Esprit owners...

The one big hint that we have received is that annual sales projections from LCU in the USA will be around 500. That would probably indicate a "worldwide" production number of around 1500 to 2000.

This is all pure speculation at this point...

ErnestM