Low Miles? 1993 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE
Though the Lotus Esprit was produced for twenty-eight years in 22 variants, fewer than 11,000 examples were made in total. The cars were handbuilt by a slender workforce at Hethel, Norfolk, UK, at the rate of about one per day. Through 1988, the styling was pure Giorgetto Giugiaro – a sharp-creased wedge shape. Beginning in 1989 until production ceased in 2004, the design reflected a softer, rounded-edged approach penned by Peter Stevens (McLaren, Rivian) and maintained later by other designers with few changes. Powerplants underwent a similar metamorphosis, beginning with a 1973 cc inline four-cylinder, then a larger four, then the same motor with a turbo, and finally on to a V8 with either one or two turbos. Here on eBay is a 1993 Esprit Turbo SE, bid to $20,110, reserve met, with a claim to only 12,000 miles. The AutoCheck report confirms the mileage and shows only four owners. The car is located in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The water-cooled, 2.2 liter, fuel-injected, Garrett turbo-charged engine hides in the center of the car – the seller affords us a bare glimpse of the manifold in this photo. With 264 bhp on tap, zero to sixty comes up in 4.7 seconds – a blink of an eye on your way to a top speed of 160 mph. A Renault five-speed manual transaxle brings power to the wheels; of course, the “whoa” matches the “go” with discs all around. The seller notes that the timing belt was changed in 2021; the new owner better mark his calendar for the next service, because this is an interference engine. Note the tidy carpet, the bright plating on the hatch latch, the clean plastic and rubber parts – it’s easy to believe the odometer reading.
The driver’s seat shows wear at the edges of the bolsters, and the seat cushion has collapsed a bit. I’m not going to cry foul on the mileage claim, though, because Lotus interiors age poorly, and the remainder of the interior is spiffy. This car has air conditioning and a lift-off roof panel.
The underside is above reproach. These cars are glass-reinforced plastic (we call it fiberglass) over a steel backbone chassis. The rear wing is mounted on the tailgate; the later S4 has a mid-mounted wing and a duck tail. Only about 1600 SEs were made, though if you pine to put one in your garage, you’ll find prospects crop up every month or so. The right price for a nice SE is about $30k, making this one slightly underbid.
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Comments
Nice. High up on my “grab a chair and a beer and sit and look at it” list of cars.
The workforce truly was slender. Not an employee over a 100 pounds.
As an Esprit Turbo owner I have some general comments to make. First plan on replacing the existing mild steel gas tanks with either the replacement aluminum or stainless steel ones. The factory put a foam pad to prevent the tanks from drumming when they were less than half filled and over time that foam adsorbed moisture and rusted out the tanks. Generally pin hole leaks but still very dangerous. If there is a smell of gas that is almost certainly the problem. Also check all the rubber hoses that are part of the fuel system more than one has burned up because of a leak there.
Other than that mine has been a very reliable car and oddly enough a grocery getter. The rear storage area will hold 4 standard grocery bags as well as a couple of gallons of milk without any problem.
Cleaning the inside of the rear deck window can be a problem. Find a friend who is tall with long arms is my best suggestion. If you fit this is a far more relaxing car to drive a long distance than you might expect. It is not as cat like as the earlier Europa but it has a great deal more power and that makes up for the difference. It is also quieter than you might expect with the engine right behind your head. If you can keep your foot out of it you will also get near 28 to 30 miles per gallon on gas. Which is nice.
Not a car for the very tall or fat but if you fit great fun. Perfect no, you need to do regular check-ups on bolts and fittings but that is generally not difficult or expensive. I have owned more than a few sports cars and a few exotics and this has been one of the least expensive I have had.
NOW I am certain someone will state that LOTUS stands for Lots of Trouble Usually Serious as always happens but my experience has been more a problem of the owners not taking care of the car. Maintained it will not rust, (the frame is heavy galvanized) the body will not rust and most parts that will wear out are from a far more common car. So not expensive and in general reliable. And NO I am not selling mine thank you very much.
Thanks for that, Bruce. Very thoughtful. Michelle is correct that the current price is very good, especially for today. $30-40K is where they usually sell presently. I’ve mentioned this before, but I had a business colleague who lived on a boat in Wilmington, NC. He had 2 of these: a red V8, and a black turbo 4. He sold them about 10 years ago for $21 and $20K and was glad to find buyers, as they were few and far between. Around that time, after a divorce, I was very tempted by one in Raleigh, NC for $18K. It’s in my bucket list…along with a lot of others. Unfortunately Julia was very happily married (and still is) and didn’t come with the car. :-)
Ahhh… the exact same gas tank/pad/pinholes/leak that I had with my Pantera. I opted to cut off a piece of the boot-shaped tank and weld on a “cap”. Yes, I lost a little gas capacity, but I rarely took it on any long trip. Saved a considerable amount of money.
I had a 73 Europa Spl. a JPS, bought new) your cars granddad , LOL I never had a problem,
The poor-man’s Testarossa. As attractive, fun to drive, and scarce as these are, I still can’t bring myself to bid on this one because Lotuses seem trouble-prone and they can’t seem to command the respect that even C4 Corvettes are starting to fetch.
Yes i am late here, the ad is gone.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/234961305551364685/
american answer
Major improvement on the basic design. AMC could have had something there if their designers weren’t asleep.