Esprit turbo retrofit

[fretay-espritS1]

For last several years it has become not uncommon to take a late 80's or early 90's Porsche 911 and make it look like an early '70s car. You get the early car looks with modern day performance/reliability.

I am thinking about taking an early 80's Esprit turbo and trying to make it look like a S1 or S2 Esprit but having the turbo car benefits. I haven't seen this done but it looks as simple as stripping away all the aero bits and bumpers and adding chrome trim around the windows. The (2) things I'm concerned with are;

1) The rear spoiler - when I take this off what will I find underneath? I realize that the panel with the rear lights is going to be a real problem but the S1 cars just had flat fiberglass panels so I think it can be fabricated.

2) Looks like there was a change to the door glass where the door meets the "A" pillar. I'm thinking that I can mount some mirrors like the prototypes had to cover this up.

Does anybody have any thoughts on such a project? Has this been done before?

Of course the other choise of taking an S1 Esprit and adding a turbo motor and many other upgrades is also worth looking into but the rear suspension has me worried...
Thanks!
FW

[pwd95]

With every possible respect...Why??

Spend the money getting the S3 Turbo in the best condition you can & enjoy it for what it is.

[fretay-espritS1]

Thanks so much for the reply PWD95.

To answer your question - The S1 is a classic, simple tidy lines - looks like a Lotus should. These cars aged very well. Now look at the first turbos with all the tacked on plastic. And don't forgot the big LOTUS embossed on the rear bumper. They could have written PONTIAC on the back and no one would have looked twice. Plus the decal stripes etc. I guess the closest comparison you could make would be the original Countach vs the later with all the added on plastic. What can you say - those were the times back then.
The performance of the turbo Esprit is so much better than the S1 I started to wonder how to get the best of both.
Does that make sense?
FW

[pwd95]

I too prefer the looks of the S1/2. Faaarr cleaner & more attractive lines. The best way forward I think would be to try & put an S2 body on to a Turbo Chassis & tweak accordingly, air intakes & such like. Good luck whatever you decide.

[Pat H]

The best starting point is probably a normally aspirated S3.

They are dead cheap and look very similar to the S2. You only need to get rid of the wrap around bumpers and you are almost there.

The Turbo has all those hideous spoilers, skirts and louvres, so there is quite a bit more to sort out.

But if I was going into Esprit ownership again, I would seek out the very rare normally aspirated 1987 S3 HC and just enjoy it for what it is.

You have almost all of the original good looks, with the stronger and more powerful HC motor, but without the complexity and bling of the Turbo. They are a very nice car in their own right.

If someone offered me an absolutely mint normally aspitated S3 HC, then I would seriously condider selling my Turbo.

[FENTY]

The side skirts are vented to push cold air to the engine, the louvre on the tailgate and the engine cover an surrounds are also designed to aid air flow around the engine. Removal could see her get a bit hot .

[peter450]

Pat H said:

The best starting point is probably a normally aspirated S3.

They are dead cheap and look very similar to the S2. You only need to get rid of the wrap around bumpers and you are almost there.

The Turbo has all those hideous spoilers, skirts and louvres, so there is quite a bit more to sort out.

But if I was going into Esprit ownership again, I would seek out the very rare normally aspirated 1987 S3 HC and just enjoy it for what it is.

You have almost all of the original good looks, with the stronger and more powerful HC motor, but without the complexity and bling of the Turbo. They are a very nice car in their own right.

If someone offered me an absolutely mint normally aspitated S3 HC, then I would seriously condider selling my Turbo.

Tell me more about this, its the first time i heard of a HC 180 bhp engine in a G car, was it a special factory order? i never seen a G car advertised with that engine and thought the only place it found a home was the Excel SE and Stevens N/A Esprit

[Pat H]

peter450 said:

Tell me more about this, its the first time i heard of a HC 180 bhp engine in a G car, was it a special factory order? i never seen a G car advertised with that engine and thought the only place it found a home was the Excel SE and Stevens N/A Esprit

It was a genuine production model, not a special order.

But they are a rare old thing. They were only manufactured in 1986/1987 and very few were made before the Giugiaro model was phased out.

The S3 Turbo HC is a pretty rare car itself, but is plentiful in comparison to the normally aspirated Giugiaro HC.

I have no idea how many were made.

Cosmetically, the cars are identical to the non HC Series 3, with the exception of the decals on the side of the car.

Under the bonnet, they have the red topped HC motor.

From a horsepower point of view they produce about 170bhp, compared to the 180bhp put out by the HC engine in the Excel SE. This is because of the less efficient exhaust manifold in the Esprit.

The real advantage, of course, is that the motor is stronger and generally a little more reliable.

Here is a pic of a S3 HC Esprit. If you look carefully you will see the HC decals. Unfortunately I don't have an under bonnet shot.