Lotus Esprit
| lotus | |
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| esprit | |
| Production period: | 1976-2004 |
| Class : | Sports car |
| Body versions : | Coupe |
| Engines: |
Petrol engines : 2.0-3.5 liters (103-260 kW) |
| Length: | 4191 mm |
| Width: | 1854 mm |
| Height: | 1118 mm |
| Wheelbase : | 2440 mm |
| Empty weight : | 960-1389 kg |
| successor | Lotus Evora |
The Lotus Esprit is a 1976-2004 crafted mid-engine - sports cars of the British low-volume manufacturer Lotus .
The car was built for the European market until 2002, for the USA until 2004. In the summer of 2004, Lotus stopped production of the Esprit after a construction period of 28 years and around 10,500 copies built. Thereafter, the Lotus Elise / Exige was the last remaining model, until 2006 the Europa and finally the successor to the Esprit, which Evora was launched on the market at the beginning of 2009.
Model history
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Esprit / Turbo
The first designs for the body shape of the Esprit were based on suggestions from Giorgetto Giugiaro . A central tubular frame like the one on the Lotus Europa was intended for them, albeit a little larger. The Esprit was presented in Turin in 1972 , but during the three years between the launch of the prototype and the start of production, the original design was improved. The rear suspension with central link and two wishbones was mounted on a rigid triangular framework made of tubular steel. Double wishbones remained on the front axle . The body panels were given a different shape, and there was the Lotus 907 engine made of light alloy with two overhead camshafts . The same engine was used in the Jensen-Healey from 1972 .
The five-speed manual transmission of the first series came from Citroën and was also used in the Maserati Merak . From 1987 Lotus installed the gearbox of the Renault 25 . The Esprit was only available with pop-up headlights during its entire production period . All models except the Sport 300 basically had no differential lock on the rear axle, which meant that they were more good-natured and easier to control in corners.
After the company was taken over by General Motors , the Esprit was revised. The 1987 model had more changes to the engine and technology than its predecessor. It now had forged Mahle pistons and the Garrett turbocharger generated 0.66 bar overpressure. The "Esprit HC" still had two Dell'Orto double carburettors and the differential gear unit from the Citroën SM .
From 1988, under the direction of GM, the body of the Lotus Esprit was very smoothed in the second edition and made more rounded and more modern in appearance than the angular shape of the first series from the 1970s. The basic shape of the body was not changed. The body developed by Colin Spooner had a drag coefficient (C w ) of 0.36. The steering still worked without a servo, the clutch and brake pedals required a firm step. For reasons of controllability in the limit area, Lotus did without a differential lock on the rear axle. The traction was still relatively good because of the mid-engine.
The engine charged with a "Garrett T3" turbo charger came from the previous model. It was still fed by two Dell'Orto double carburetors (DHLA 45M). The set-up of such a system was expensive and complicated, but well adjusted, the Esprit Turbo accelerated to 200 km / h faster than a Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 (even without a catalytic converter).
Air conditioning or leather upholstery cost a surcharge, and a removable pop-top roof was standard equipment.
Esprit V8
From 1996 there was a new version that drew an output of 260 kW (354 hp) and a maximum torque of 400 Nm from the newly developed 3.5-l biturbo V8 engine (Lotus 918 engine) with 32 valves . The "Esprit V8" was the first and only Lotus with an eight-cylinder engine and at the same time the most powerful version in the Esprit series and, for example, accelerated faster than the Porsche 993 Carrera, which was at the same time expensive . Nevertheless, the model sold rather slowly, for several reasons. On the one hand, the Esprit was a very flat sports car with a height of just 1.12 m. An automatic transmission was also not available for an extra charge, and no two golf bags could fit in the trunk. As a result, the car was no longer attractive for the American market.
The models with eight-cylinder engines were referred to as V8s until 1998 , then with a facelift of the dashboard as GT and SE , whereby the SE equipment was the higher quality (series: leather, air conditioning, radio, rear spoiler, etc.). A special 350 Sport model, limited to 50 units, added to the range in 1999. This was the fastest and most powerful model in the Lotus Esprit range ever built. The interior of the 350-Sport was simplified; for example, there was no air conditioning. This model was only available in silver, the engine was painted blue and the instrument panel was decorated with carbon . Due to the use of lighter components, the car weighed around 25/80 kg less than the GT / SE series models. The engine remained unchanged, the performance was only marginally better. With the appearance of the 350-Sport and the other GT-Esprits from model year 2000, the SE Esprit models received the more powerful 320 mm AP brake system of the 350 Sport model, which can be recognized by the perforated brake discs. For the last model year 2002/03, round rear lights and the front spoiler lip from the 350 Sport model were introduced. The leather interior has been changed slightly.
The eight-cylinder engine of the Esprit was installed in individual copies of the AC Ace sports car from 1998 to 2000 .
Engines
Initially the Esprit did not have the hoped-for success, among other things because of the poor performance data - the factory-set values (0-100 km / h in 6.8 s and 222 km / h top speed) were unrealistic. Nevertheless, a second series (S2) was presented in 1978. At the 1980 Geneva Motor Show , Lotus presented a version with a supercharger engine , the Turbo Esprit , which was equipped with the 2.2-liter version of the sixteen-valve Lotus 907. This engine, which had been developed for the Sunbeam Lotus, was able to achieve a maximum output of 154 kW thanks to its Garrett turbocharger .
In the same year, another Esprit - also this one with a 2.2 l engine, but without a turbocharger - was presented, called the "S 2.2". This engine was modified several times in the version with turbo-charging and was built until 1996 when the Esprit V8 was introduced. After that there was only a smaller version of the four-cylinder engine used previously as an alternative to the new 3.5-liter eight-cylinder V-engine . From then on, the latter had a displacement of just 2.0 l and was part of the range as the entry-level GT3 until 1999.
The Esprit V8's turbocharged engine, charged at 0.75 bar, was very powerful, but had some design disadvantages. For one thing, Lotus did without a charge air cooler . The engine would have produced more than 295 kW - but the too weakly dimensioned manual transmission would not have withstood that, and it consumed a lot of fuel at full throttle.
Performance
The base model "S 2.2", which appeared in 1980, was able to accelerate from 0 to 96 km / h (0-60 mph) in 6.7 s, according to the factory, while the sportier version, Turbo Esprit, should do it in 5.6 s. However, these values were almost never achieved in reality; Only an Esprit Turbo tested in 1988 actually managed 5.6 seconds and a top speed of 251 km / h. These acceleration values changed only slightly up to the appearance of the Esprit V8 in 1996, since the same 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine with turbo was always installed until then. Even the Esprit S4s from 1995 still had the same engine, even if it had meanwhile increased to 224 kW (305 hp). The S4s still needed 5.2 s in the test for the sprint from 0 to 100 km / h and ran 272 km / h.
Only the Esprit V8 was able to significantly improve these values with its output of 260 kW (354 hp). This model accelerated from 0 to 100 km / h in just 4.7 s and had a top speed of over 282 km / h. The lap on the small circuit in Hockenheim lasted 1.17.9 minutes in a test of the Sport auto . Only the top model, the "350-Sport" could undercut these values; with 4.4 s from 0 to 100 km / h and a record time of 1.15.3 minutes in Hockenheim and a lap time of 8.13 minutes for the Nordschleife . However, the top speed did not change compared to the normal Esprit V8.
Models and engines
| model | construction time | engine | Displacement | power | Torque | V max | 0-100 km / h | Empty weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st generation | ||||||||
| esprit | 1976-1988 | R4 | 1969 cc | 110 kW / 150 PS | 190 Nm | 216 km / h | 8.5 s | 1010 kg |
| Esprit S2 | 1978-1980 | 220 km / h | 7.1 s | 1020 kg | ||||
| esprit | 1976-1977 | 1973 cc | 118 kW / 160 PS | 221 km / h | 6.8 s | 960 kg | ||
| Esprit S2 | 1978-1981 | 200 km / h | ||||||
| 2nd generation | ||||||||
| Esprit S2.2 | 1980-1981 | R4 | 2174 cc | 118 kW / 160 PS | 216 Nm | 200 km / h | ||
| Esprit S3 | 1981-1987 | 217 km / h | ||||||
| Esprit Turbo | 1981-1986 | R4 turbo | 157 kW / 214 PS | 271 Nm | 241 km / h | 1389 kg | ||
| 3rd generation | ||||||||
| Esprit Turbo HC | 1987 | R4 turbo | 2174 cc | 160 kW / 218 PS | 298 Nm | 235 km / h | 1280 kg | |
| Esprit Turbo | 1987-1990 | 158 kW / 215 PS | 300 Nm | 250 km / h | ||||
| esprit | R4 | 126 kW / 171 PS | 216 Nm | 222 km / h | ||||
| Esprit SE | 1989-1991 | R4 turbo | 197 kW / 268 PS | 354 Nm | 256 km / h | 5.0 s | 1329 kg | |
| Esprit S | 1991 | 168 kW / 228 PS | 295 Nm | 255 km / h | ||||
| Esprit SE HW | 1992-1993 | 194 kW / 264 PS | 354 Nm | 265 km / h | ||||
| 4th generation | ||||||||
| Esprit S4 | 1993-1996 | R4 turbo | 2174 cc | 197 kW / 268 PS | 354 Nm | 265 km / h | 5.0 s | 1340 kg |
| Esprit 300 Sport | 1993 | 225 kW / 306 PS | 393 Nm | 261 km / h | 4.8 s | 1305 kg | ||
| Esprit S4s | 1995-1996 | 212 kW / 288 PS | 270 km / h | 4.9 s | ||||
| Esprit GT3 | 1996-1999 | 1973 cc | 179 kW / 243 PS | 294 Nm | 263 km / h | 4.8 s | 1380 kg | |
| Esprit V8 | 1996-1998 | V8 BiTurbo | 3506 cc | 260 kW / 354 PS | 400 Nm | 274 km / h | 4.7 s | |
| Esprit V8 GT | 1998-2001 | |||||||
| Esprit V8 SE | 282 km / h | |||||||
| Esprit 350 Sport | 1999 | 4.6 s | 1300 kg | |||||
| esprit | 2002-2004 | 5.0 s | ||||||
The esprit in the media (selection)
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The Lotus Esprit was best known for its role as a James Bond car in the films The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), In Fatal Mission (1981) and for its appearances in the films Pretty Woman (1990), Filofax - I Am You and You Are Nothing (1990), Teen Agent - When Looks Could Kill (1991) and Basic Instinct (1992). In addition, there was a very successful computer game series ( Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge ) in the early 1990s , which mainly focused on the Esprit (in the second part - "Lotus Turbo Challenge 2" - also the Elan SE and in the third part - " Lotus III: The Ultimate Challenge “- also the prototype M200), which made the Lotus Esprit even more popular.
In 2017, the German rapper Cro used the Lotus Esprit from 1977 in the music video for his song Baum.
literature
- Russell Hayes: Lotus. Heel-Verlag, Königswinter 2007, ISBN 978-3-89880-823-1 .
- Jeremy Walton: Lotus Esprit: The Complete Story. Crowood Press, Ramsbury (Great Britain) 1997, ISBN 1-86126-066-0 . (English)
Web links
Reports
- Lotus Esprit V8 - End of a Dinosaur
- Driving report of the Lotus Esprit Sport 350
- Report on the Lotus Esprit V8-GT
- Report on the Lotus Esprit 2002
Videos
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lotus Esprit Turbo.com: First drafts of the Lotus Esprit for 2009 (English) On: www.lotusespritturbo.com , April 18, 2007, 8:50 pm
- ↑ The Esprit successor is speculated about a collaboration with Toyota
- ↑ http://atspeedimages.com/showcase.php/d6a1c6a0-1d29-11dd-bcbb-0019e3f8e432
- ↑ Original test of "Motoring Mag" from the 1970s
- ↑ Chimperator Channel: Cro - Tree (Official Version). June 1, 2017, accessed February 24, 2018 .
