Description
It’s time to sell my 1992 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE that I’ve enjoyed for the last 25 years.
But first, some asks; please don’t send me texts because I won’t respond, please don’t waste you time and mine if you are not seriously interested because you are not going to get a free joyride in a supercar; and absolutely no test drives without proof of funds, and that’s with me driving b. t. w.
Ok, that’s done, now to the the car. It’s one of the very last of the 4-cylinder S3 Turbo SE Esprits ever made, and it’s a high-wing too, which makes it even rarer. As you can see from the pictures, it is a beautiful metallic aqua blue with light tan and black leather interior.
I’ve greatly enjoyed this fun and very ‘smiley’ car. It’s done 80, 432miles, of which I’ve personally done 36k in the entire 25 years I’ve had it. I used to use it for a daily 10 mile commute but since I moved house it’s spent most of the last 15 years sat in my garage, unused, and has only done 200 miles in the last 4 years. So it’s time to give someone else the chance to be its proud owner.
It doesn’t have the extra weight of the later V8 engines, so the 264BHP from the 2174cc, 4-cylinder, charge-cooled, turbocharged engine actually gives the best power-to-weight ratio of all the Esprits, and 0-60 in 4. 7sec with a 163mph top speed. Having said that, I’ve never taken it on a track-day or thrashed it on a road, it’s way faster than my driving capabilities or desires, even just cruising through the towns 30-zones is enough for me. But it is nice to have a car that accelerates like a proverbial rocketship when overtaking and corners like it is stuck to the road.
Work done:
Driver & passenger door frames replaced (yup, the old ones rusted through exactly where you expect on an Esprit). Both windows now go up and down.
Driver & passenger rear quarter-light glass removed and resealed (the adhesive had failed as usual)
Drive belts just changed (cam belt, a/ c belt, water pump/ vac pump belt and alternator belt)
New front tyres just fitted, rear tyres changed several years ago and not used since. Be aware that you can’t get the original ‘Eagle’ tyres any more, any you do find will have been sat in a warehouse for 20 years so I would not buy them anyway. I kept the old Eagles, they still have a little life left in them if you want them thrown in.
Electric chargecooler pump fitted (the original 'bilge pump' is still on the engine but the impellers barely last a year hence I converted it to electric)
Rear discs replaced
Rear calliper pistons replaced
Front & rear calliper seals replaced
Break pipes changed (inc new flexible hoses)
New ABS accumulator reservoir
New stainless silencer
New stainless catalytic convertor
New O2 sensor
Petrol pump replaced
Main radiator replaced
Alternator serviced (slip rings cleaned, brushes inspected).
Battery changed quite recently and in good condition
Oil filter, oil and air filter changed recently
MOT until end of April 2022, I have all the MOT certificated from the last 27 years as proof of mileage.
Road tax was £270 last year
Cobra alarm immobilizer fitted when I got the car (I have the installation paperwork)
I have an OBD2 probe for the ECU/ ABS that I will include in the sale.
Sun roof 'deflector' is still in its bag in the boot, I've never actually used it. Original jack, etc is under then bonnet, as is the thin spare wheel.
Known issues:
The aircon has been dry for the last 20 years, I was told by the aircon guy that you can’t get the old gas now so if you want to fix it you need to change the compressor oil and all the seals in the system. When it’s hot I just used to open the windows and sun-roof anyway. :-)
The original Kenwood KDC-C600 multidisk CD player skips tracks. You can probably get it tuned up but it’s probably better to just buy a nice new Sony radio that plays MP3’s. The KRC-453 cassette radio works fine and I can throw in my heavily used Bat Out Of Hell tape if you like!
Some crazing on the walnut facia, could easily be filled/ re-varnished (see pic)
It’s 30 years old so there are some blemishes on the fiberglass body paintwork. There is no actual damage as such, it’s just wear & tear.
Leatherwork is in good condition except for a bit of shrinkage of the leather on the panel above the passenger windscreen behind the sun visor. This could be fixed by a skilled leather-worker. It was caused when I parked on a slope and the sunroof gully overflowed into the cabin when it rained, the leather got a bit wet and shrank. Tip, don’t park nose-down on a slope in the rain!
I still have the original Lotus tool kit, but unbeknown to me, water had got into the case and the chrome has rusted on most of the tools. You could probably get it re-chromed if originality is important, I never used it and the tools were not that great anyway.
Alarm system seems to drain the battery if not used for 3-4 weeks, hence the car is kept on trickle charge to keep the battery in good condition while not being used.
The front and rear dampers are ORIGINAL! I’ve cleaned them up and they work fine but it might be time to replace them as there was a note about that on the last MOT.
Gearbox sump drain plug square lug broke off just after I got the car, I have a new magnetic plug but never bothered to extract the old one from the gearbox casing, so to change the gearbox oil you have to syphon the oil out through the filler hole. Not really a problem. (the engine sump plug is fine)
The sun has faded the carpets in places (the leather is all fine though)
The original Cobra key fobs both failed after 5 years (poor quality chips) so I have fitted a replacement central locking controller and new key fobs which work great.
Payment by online bank transfer on collection please. To avoid delays and an unexpected last minute trip to your bank, please check in advance what your banks max online transfer transaction limit is (I got caught out by this limit recently).
So, if you have any questions or are interested in a viewing please contact me
