Regarded even now as Britain's only super-car, the Lotus Esprit is one of the most iconic sports cars the world has ever seen.  The GT3 version is regarded as one of the best-handling derivatives.  It is also one of the rarest cars in the world; only 196 were produced.

S581SNF represents one of the final incarnations of the all-British supercar made famous in James Bond films.  Notably, the first variant was 007’s car which turned into a ‘submarine’ to evade the villains.  Many young boys fell in love with the Esprit at this time, including the current owner of S581SNF.  In 1988, 11 years after launch, the original Giugiaro-designed body was ‘rounded’ by Peter Stevens.  In 1993, the Esprit was further re-styled.

After 20 years of production, in 1996, the super-lightweight GT3 was launched.  The GT3 production run lasted 2 years until 1998, when S581SNF was made.  301 Esprits were built that year in total.

The Esprit was finally discontinued in 2004, after 23 variants and 28 years of production.  It has been driven by Roger Moore as James Bond in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ (1977)  and ‘For Your Eyes Only’ (1981), by Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in ‘Pretty Woman’ (1990) and by Sharon Stone in ‘Basic Instinct’ (1992).

The GT3 is one of the best-handling Esprits, the sheer embodiment of pure driver appeal, with a legendary ride, and incorporates many refinements over previous models.  Only 196 GT3s were built (1.8% of all Esprits).  Esprits are incredibly rare.  Less than 11,000 Esprits were built over 28 years (381 per year on average).  By contrast, over 28,000 Porsches are built every year!

CAR SPECIFICATIONS

Mid-mounted aluminium advanced 2.0 litre 16v engine.

Charge-cooled with multi-point injection system.

Water-cooled TB03 turbocharger with internal wastegate.

Max. power  240 hp  (179 kW) at 6250 rpm.

Max. torque  216 lb.ft  (294Nm) at 3750 rpm.

Max. speed  164 mph (263 kph).

0-60 mph  5.1s                      0-100 mph  12.9s.

Kerb weight  1229kg.               BHP per tonne  195.28.

Kelsey Hayes ABS.  Brembo brakes on ventilated discs.

High torque 5-speed manual transaxle, rear wheel drive.

Composite body.

Rigid steel zinc-coated chassis.

Lotus 5-spoke alloy 17” wheels 7J front and 8.5J rear.

Tyres: 215/40 ZR 17” front.            245/45 ZR 17” rear.

This GT3 has the optional V8 rear wing, V8 leather seats, air-con, 6-speaker remote-control ICE system.

ACTIVITIES

Collection of Groom
Journey to Church
Journey to Stag event
Collection of Graduate
Journey to or from Graduation ceremony or celebration
Deliver a lady or gentleman to a special event
And other missions too

COMFORT

Leather seats
Air-conditioning
Sun-roof
6-speaker stereo system
ABS braking system