If we could purchase one singular British car from all of automotive history… it’d be this one. The Lotus Esprit. Featuring a mid-engined 3.5 L V8 was all we needed to hear, and when we found it on Cars and Bids, we knew that it was going on this week’s auction find.
Finished in a gorgeous Calypso Red on top of a Raffia interior, the Esprit is in our opinion one of the most beautiful vehicles to ever have the honor of being manufactured. Its flowy lines give way to the iconic wedge shape in the bow. A mix of modern and retro done right. Plus, if you want modern, this Esprit has got it. Power windows, a staggered wheel setup, Brembos, and air conditioning all bring this British flower into the 21st century. Keeping it in the past are its classic popup headlights and the wedge-shaped design in supercars of old, like the Lamborghini Countach and Diablo.
This particular Esprit only shows 26,400 miles, and even for Lotus reliability the surface has barely been scratched. Fitted with a custom exhaust system, we can only wish to hear how its V8 sounds. An even better plus is the 5-speed manual transmission it comes with, getting to row your own gears with 350 horsepower is always fun, no matter the car. Having a production run from 1976 to 2004, the Esprit was eternally stuck between generations. Coming into the modern era yet being one of the last cars to give up its pop-up headlamps might’ve been its defining feature. But its exclusivity was unmatched. Only a handful of Esprits ever made it to US shores, with most being spread around the Old World.
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This Esprit seems to have spent most of its life in sunny California and at the time of writing is at $41,000 on the bidding with 2 days left. If there was ever a time to hang on to V8’s, it’s now. With Lotus delving into an all-electric lineup in the coming years, we’d love to see another Lotus V8… but that probably won’t happen.
