Lotus Esprit — The Complete Story

by Johnny Tipler

As Lotus’s flagship model for almost three decades, the Esprit was launched in 1976 and remained in production for over a quarter of a century. It received regular refreshment along the way, principally to its original Giorgetto Giugiaro design and, from 1987, to its later Peter Stevens incarnation. Both iterations enabled the Esprit to maintain its position at the forefront of its market segment. Regularly compared to the best available from its German and Italian rivals, the Esprit was equally at home on the race track as it was on the road. A promising return to top-line international GT racing saw the Esprit compete on equal terms with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren, whilst, back in the showrooms, the car was selling for a fraction of their cost. The legacy of the Esprit can clearly be seen in current Lotus models whose core design brief is that they should always be the finest handling vehicle with the deftest of steering, feedback and feel.

With over 300 stunning images, including professional photos, factory archive pictures and specially commissioned artworks, and featuring several interviews with Lotus personnel intimately concerned with Esprit production, this book is a fitting tribute to a masterpiece of design and technology.

Contents:

• The Inspiration and the Series 1
• The Esprit Series 2
• The Type 82 Turbo Esprit
• The Type 85 Esprit Series 3
• The Type 82 Turbo Esprit HC and HCPI
• The Type 85 'Peter Stevens' Esprit
• The Type 105 Esprit SE (SCCA)
• The Type 82 Esprit Sport 300
• The Type 82 Esprit S4
• The Type 114 Esprit GTI
• The Type 82 Esprit V8
• The Esprit Sport 350
• The Esprits Successors

Buch, Hardcover, 21,5 x 26 cm, 192 Seiten, ca. 300 überwiegend farbige Abbildungen, englischer Text