UNIQUE LOTUS ESPRIT TURBO
Active suspension test mule up for grabs
The Lotus Esprit’s mix of movie glamour and handling finesse came to epitomise the best of the brand. Bolting a turbo on to its four-cylinder engine completed the supercar puzzle.
A recent trawl online revealed a special Esprit Turbo for sale. It’s one of the early pre-production ‘Essex’ cars – so called because the first Esprit Turbo sported an F1 livery commemorating the Norfolk firm’s shortterm sponsorship deal with the nowlong-defunct Essex Overseas Petroleum Corporation. The Essex cars pre-dated the factory Esprit Turbo and not only marked the first factoryblown Esprit, but also the transition from Series 2 to the vastly improved S3.
All that would be impressive enough, but this Essex Turbo went on to lead an even more significant role; it was selected by Lotus R&D as a test mule for the revolutionary new Active Suspension.
The computercontrolled hydraulic suspension still seems advanced today; but in 1983, it must have seemed like science fiction. The system found its way into F1 by the late Eighties but, without cars like this, the tech would probably never have been used.
Since being put through its PR paces in November 1983 by Nigel Mansell (in
PC stablemate CAR magazine), this Esprit sat abandoned at the factory, awaiting a date with the crusher. Apparently, one sympathetic Lotus employee kept finding new places to hide it, before management finally caught on and put it on display.
Eventually, the car was sold in 2016 with just 6492 miles showing on the clock.
The Esprit has had a lot of cosmetic and mechanical work done, but the complex
‘One sympathetic Lotus employee kept finding new places to hide it’
suspension system – thought to be complete – isn’t yet in working order.
We can only imagine the difficulty in trying to find the right periodcorrect computer and accompanying software to get those hydraulic rams and ancient control unit chatting again.
The car was due to be sold by Anglia Car Auctions in late January, with an estimate of £90k-£120k.
Surely it has now dodged the crusher once and for all.