c1995 Lotus Esprit S4 2.2Lt 'Turbo' Coupe

Description

The Esprit was Colin Chapman’s first serious attempt at building a supercar capable of taking on the likes of Porsche and Ferrari. First unveiled as a concept car at the Turin Motor Show in 1972 with radical wedge-shaped styling by the talented Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, it would be another four years before the first customers took delivery due to an extended period of development. The Esprit received a considerable publicity boost thank to the 1977 James Bond film “The Spy Who Loved Me”, with Roger Moore famously taking to the sea in one. Although it looked every inch the futuristic Italian-styled supercar, both inside and out, the Esprit remained true to Lotus’ philosophy of building lightweight car with small-capacity engines and handling inspired by the racetrack. For 1987, the Esprit underwent a major redesign, this time with English designer Peter Stevens, who also penned the McLaren F1, responsible for the styling. Codenamed X180, the lines were successfully updated with a softening of the sharp edges, allowing for more interior space, while a lift-out roof panel (in either body colour Nomex or tinted glass) was a neat addition and new multi-spoke alloy wheels. The instrument panel was also new and the ventilation system vastly improved. Both normally-aspirated and turbocharged variants of the latest generation Esprit were available, although it wasn’t until 1996 that the long-awaited V8 made it into production. Mechanically, the Esprit Turbo saw a Renault five-speed transaxle take the place of the long-serving Citroen-Maserati gearbox, with the turbocharged 2174cc four-cylinder engine sold in both carburettor and fuel-injection (badged the SE) versions. Another facelift, courtesy of designer Julian Thomson, followed in 1993, incorporating new bumpers, side skirts and rear wing, plus a new five-spoke wheel design. Power was up (the S4 made 264bhp), enabling the Lotus to reach 100km/h in five seconds flat, a figure that still impresses two decades on. With a list price just shy of $200,000 in 1996, the Lotus Esprit S4 was no bargain and only a handful were delivered in Australia, making this an exceptionally scarce and surprisingly affordable supercar today.