It has a Brown/Tan interior and runs well. It has nice original racing wheels and the tires are in good shape too. It has prefabricated bumpers with a "Wet Nellie" vanity plate on it and an antique tag so you never have to go through emissions again! I have a lotus certificate of provenance from Andy Graham, company archivist. I have checked the engine number out and it matches.
"The Esprit was launched in October 1975 at the Paris Motor Show and entered production in June 1976, replacing the Europa in the Lotus model lineup. These first cars became known as "Series 1" (or S1) Esprits. The wedge-shaped fiberglass body was mounted on a steel backbone chassis. Power was from the 1,973 cc (120.4 cu in) Lotus 907 4-cylinder engine that produced 160 bhp (119 kW; 162 PS) in European trim and 140 bhp (104 kW; 142 PS) in US/Federal trim. The engine was mounted longitudinally behind the passengers and drove the rear wheels through a Citroën C35 5-speed manual transaxle also used in the SM and Maserati Merak. Rear brakes were mounted inboard, following contemporary racing practice. The Series 1 embodied Lotus' performance through light weight mantra, weighing less than 1,000 kg (2,205 lb).Front suspension was by upper A-arms and lower lateral links triangulated by the anti-roll bar. Rear suspension was by tapering box-section trailing arms and lower lateral links. The half-shafts had no provision for plunge and handled some of the lateral forces. There were coil-over shock absorbers and disc brakes at all four corners. Steering was by an unassisted rack and pinion.
While the S1 Esprit was lauded for its handling and was said to have the best steering of any Esprit, it was generally regarded as being under-powered, especially in markets such as the United States where the engine was stifled by emission controls. Lotus' claim of 0–60 mph (0.0–96.6 km/h) in 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 222 km/h (138 mph) may have been optimistic, as actual road tests returned a 0-60 mph time of 8 seconds and a top speed of about 214 km/h (133 mph).[8]
The S1 Esprit was distinguished from later Esprits by its shovel-style front air dam, Fiat X1/9-sourced taillights, absence of body-side ducting, and Wolfrace alloy wheels. Inside the car, the S1 Esprit had a one-piece instrument cluster with green-faced Veglia gauges."
I have had a couple of questions about a louver, it does come off, it takes two screws to remove it and then you just pop it out.
And the Lotus Esprit DOES RUN!
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