This is the second episode of “Behind the Drive”, a motoring show dedicated to affordable enthusiast vehicles.
This is the second episode of “Behind the Drive”, a motoring show dedicated to affordable enthusiast vehicles.
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I love this car , it seems most guys, stall it , in the beginning . I would
love to have one , for every day driver . They say . it´s fairly reliable .
as well . Beautiful color .
I want one , now !!!
to be honest, when he described the gearshift as ‘eh eh er’ it was
instantly clear to me exactly what he meant.. hahaha
where is your guys luggage in this road trip GT cruiser ?
Abe keep his M3 vert & 951.
Good luck Lotus touring guys.
What a awesome car.
How is the Lotus interior for a tall driver? I have always loved the Esprit
and am thinking of trading my Porsche 996 Turbo for one, but worry about
regretting it later…any insights would be great.
stunning car and great colour….gr8 vid also guys
Fun to see. Thanks. One little bit of stuff. A rear mid-engined car isn’t
shooting for a 50/50 weight distribution. Looking more like 60/40 or 65/35.
That’s the distribution that falls out, by intention and design for rear
mid-engined configurations, for road or racing cars.
I have owned three Esprits over the years, one nearly identical to this
one. There is no way I would let Chris drive this car anywhere, although
his views on the trans notchiness are not far off the mark. Chris aside,
the Esprits have been the only cars I have owned that seemed worth the high
cost. The smell of the leather alone is intoxicating, something you won’t
get in a similar price Corvette,NSX or Viper. Truly a gentlemen’s supercar
capable of spanking the 308, 328, 348, 355 and 512TR.
The Esprit – being just as cool, if not MORE cool than anything Italian
since the 60’s….:)
put tanner foust behind the wheel and see what it is made off. Car looks
great , but I can tell it does not drive as good as it looks.
this video seems too scripted
Thanks very much for your observation and input. We realized that we
misspoke on this point only after editing was completed and the video was
uploaded. You are correct, and we’re sorry for any confusion caused.
There were a couple of gearbox related problems. one was the plastic
hydraulic line fot eh clutch. It was originally not shielded in any way and
run past the exhaust system, causing the fluid to boil when things got hot.
This should be an easy fix. The transimission itself is a Renault UN1, the
max power it supposedly can hold is around 350 HP. The V8 Esprit is capable
of WAY more HP, but is detuned to help the transmission survive.
With all due respect – pricing figures are not based on asking prices, but
on actual sale prices. The car in this video (mine, as it happens) sold
just over six months after we shot the footage – it took four months to
sell. I was asking $44,900, but had to accept a high offer of $38,750 after
four months.
Actually, the wastegate is located on or near the turbocharger, and opens
when exhaust gases coming into the turbo, reach and rise above a certain
pressure, the blow-off valve, on the other hand, which is what the guy
heard, is there so that when you let off the pedal and the throttle closes,
the boost pressure that builds up in the system can be released safely.
Great car but man was that painful to watch. It felt like the Esprit
brochure was being directly read to me. Opinions and emotions are key.
Otherwise you seem like just another salesman. I mean, there was a lot of
“I think that blabla…” in the clip, but I think that you two were just
disagreeing with each other for the sake of a balanced argument. I might be
wrong with all of that, but the way you talk needs to feel more natural and
less automated. Take no offence. Just constructive criticism.
Wow! Thanks guys for making a quality video of my dream car, and even in
the right color! This should keep me going until I can afford one of my
own… 😉
50/50 is indeed traditionally achieved with FE/RWD cars like Caterhams or
BMWs. Rear ME, such as with the Esprit, gives you a slight rearward bias to
this balance which offers better traction. In racing cars it was also
mainly done for packaging reasons related to aerodynamics. However, you
also have to consider the polar moment of inertia – the Esprit may have a
similar weight distribution to a BMW but it will be far more nimble due to
its low PMoI – it’s very noticeable in how the car drives.
I just love those pop up headlights. I think they should come back to the
corvette c7 and the next mazda miata.
The Esprit is a fantastic car. I had my white 1999 model for a little over
3 years before moving onto something different. Transmission is definitely
the main downfall to the car. It was built by Renault for 150hp back in the
80’s. Unfortunately, seeing as Lotus built the Esprit in such low
quantities (around 1500 V8’s over 8 years) the cost of designing and
building a proper transmission was gonna push the overall price of the car
wayyy to high. Other than the tranny, mine worked flawless!
You’ll be better off buying a Acura NSX or a C6 Corvette. British and
Italian sport cars look great, but you will start to hate them after the
expensive repairs. Especially Ferrari.
totally agree
Oh, and nice car by the way 🙂 I’ve always loved these since I was a kid.
Lotus are absolute geniuses when it comes to ride, handling and steering
feel and it really shows in the Esprit.
Thanks for the compliment and the comment. Arguably, my comment may have
been somewhat misleading. The weight distrubution on this particular Esprit
(according to my corner scales) was 44.4% Front 55.6% rear. I categorized
this as “near 50/50 weight distribution which is probably misleading.
Thanks for the observation! I do see your point.
Ok then, i have been in another one of the 4 azure blue esprits… 🙂
I actually just purchased a sliver/black one last month in October. #43/100
for my 43rd birthday gift to myself ironically enough. I’ve wanted one
since I was a kid, and when I saw what 25th anniversary edition number it
was, well It was a sign! 🙂 So far I love it!
I love the car, but the color was way off in your filming, the center
double lines on the road appear red at times.
Not sure how tall you are – Chis is 6’1″ and he did mention it was a little
cramped for him. I’d suggest trying find a dealer or private seller who has
one for sale because entry/egress will be quite different than your 996
Turbo.
Thank you very much for your comments, and they are, indeed, taken in the
light in which they were submitted. I agree that we need to look more
relaxed, but please bear in mind, this is only our second episode and
we’re still trying to find a “rhythm”. I can assure you, however, we
weren’t disagreeing with each other just for the sake of a balanced
argument. When we write the show, we just basically highlight talking
points and have a conversation around the idea. We really ARE what you see.
You guys need to make more of these videos – they’re great.
A fabulous looking car, amazing!
A great video guys. As a UK GT3 Esprit owner, your video still makes me
excited about the V8 Esprit! Well done.
Very nice Lotus.. But theres no way I would have let that guy take my Lotus
on a track.. after watching him drive it on the road.
very nice car but with very weak gear box 🙁
I would drive that car soo hard and send it back to the owner wet and put
away.
You got your pricing information wrong. A decent 2002 Anniversary Edition
like this one would probably command somewhere between $42,000 and $45,000
dollars with service records and low mileage. Final Edition models (93 1/2
to 94 MY) are selling for on the high side of $50,000.from my experience
since I am current shopping for a V8 Esprit.
These episodes are somewhat interesting but I can’t really get with how
rehearsed it feels. I think to really make this great you guys should just
do it without a script. Play off of each other, like TG UK.
Don’t learn to drive stick on an Esprit buddy!
Actually, the V8 Esprits were pretty reliable. This one, for instance, in
seven years of ownership was not in the shop even once for anything other
than scheduled maintenance. If you read through the owners’ forums online,
you’ll find most owners echo the same sentiment.