Lotus Esprit

Monday was a great day. It was the day that I picked up my 2000 Lotus Esprit. I was very excited and when I first saw it I had a huge smile. The color combo looks so good together and that blue paint just pop's in the sun. It took me a little bit to get used to the clutch and stick shift, I shifted from 1st to 4th a few times. I love how few buttons are in this car, it's very refreshing to not have 30 buttons on the dash. The car has good visibility and is easy to drive. I put on over 500 km so far and I'm loving every minute. It has 2002+ upgraded wheels, rear lower valance and aftermarket center exhaust. The exhaust sounds so good with it's snap crackle and pop. I didn't think a turbo'd car could sound so good. It has great power and is such a sexy car. Enough talk so here is some pictures....

Beautiful color and great car. I could definitely see myself having one some day.

Looks great. Congrats!

 

Congrats!!!

rhyno very cool!

She is beautiful. There is just something about a Lotus. Much Love.

Man I love these things

congrats, its a beautiful colour!

Thanks guys!!! This is the first time I have bought a Lotus and so far I love it. I remember seeing the Esprit at the Lotus dealer in Vancouver and thought they were so cool. Now the prices have bottomed out and they are so cheap for what you get so I had to have one!

Congrats Rhyno on a very cool and underrated pickup!!

 

Enjoy

 

How do you like the chassis and steering response compared to other sports/exotics?

Beautiful color and great car. I could definitely see myself having one some day.

 

 

Might be the best value in all of exotic cars. My only concern is if it's a bit too high maintenance for a first exotic.

They are very cool, congratz!

Love the color! It's crazy the power they got out of that little 4-banger back in the day! Congrats and enjoy it!!

Till this day, even with all its quirks, I love... and I mean, LOVE this car. Here is a tribute that I wish I could pay if I owned one. I almost broke out in tears (who wouldn't) as you could tell this dude missed selling the ride.

 

 

Such an awesome song to matches the mood.

Love the color! It's crazy the power they got out of that little 4-banger back in the day! Congrats and enjoy it!!

 

This is the TT V8 though right?

This is the TT V8 though right?

 

Correct. I believe 96 was the first year of the V8. Everything earlier was the TT 4 banger.

Beautiful! I'll own one some day!

Its is an awesome car! There are a few easy bolt ons you can do that liven it up abit..

Correct. I believe 96 was the first year of the V8. Everything earlier was the TT 4 banger.

 

actually they built both the 4cyl and V8 concurrently for a while too.

 

but that is clearly a V8 from the pictures, definitely one of the forgotten yet awesome cars of our time.

Yes mine is a V8 TT.

 

Here is a little comparison I wrote on the Lotus forum:

I drove the Esprit home on Monday and put almost 500km on her already. My first thoughts in comparison with the Esprit vs Diablo Roadster are that size wise the Esprit is tiny. It is much easier to drive in traffic and has great visibility. It also doesn't have a brutal passenger side blind spot like the Diablo. The interior's are very different, there is less room in the Esprit cabin so it feels more snug. The power delivery is very different on both cars. The Diablo is heavy with AWD and has very long gears, it kinda feels like a freight train that builds never ending power. The Esprit feels light and when those turbo's spool up it feels like a slingshot. I'm not sure which car would be faster but I was amazed with the how fast the Esprit got up to top speed. I think the Diablo feels more planted on the road at speed with almost no body roll, the Esprit has very quick steering and more body roll. I would give the edge in handling on the road to the Diablo because it instills more confidence. On a rack track I think the Esprit would be better handling. Those are my first impressions and remember these cars are pretty much 15 years old so they are not perfect brand new cars.

Yes mine is a V8 TT.

 

Here is a little comparison I wrote on the Lotus forum:

I drove the Esprit home on Monday and put almost 500km on her already. My first thoughts in comparison with the Esprit vs Diablo Roadster are that size wise the Esprit is tiny. It is much easier to drive in traffic and has great visibility. It also doesn't have a brutal passenger side blind spot like the Diablo. The interior's are very different, there is less room in the Esprit cabin so it feels more snug. The power delivery is very different on both cars. The Diablo is heavy with AWD and has very long gears, it kinda feels like a freight train that builds never ending power. The Esprit feels light and when those turbo's spool up it feels like a slingshot. I'm not sure which car would be faster but I was amazed with the how fast the Esprit got up to top speed. I think the Diablo feels more planted on the road at speed with almost no body roll, the Esprit has very quick steering and more body roll. I would give the edge in handling on the road to the Diablo because it instills more confidence. On a rack track I think the Esprit would be better handling. Those are my first impressions and remember these cars are pretty much 15 years old so they are not perfect brand new cars.

The Esprit also gets a TON of attention.. Park a similar year Ferrari next to it and its virtually invisible.

ive been looking at esprits and have been very very tempted.

 

congrats on the purchase

 

Congrats!!!!

I am not such a big fan of the Esprit, But hot damn yours looks amazing! Nice to see it in a color other then silver

 

Would love to see a photo of all your cars

Always loved the esprits...especially the V8's. Congrats and very nice color combo.

That is an amazing car. I sold many of them back in the day and I loved to drive them. They were quirky and a little fussy, but when there were running right the car was a joy.