Used to have an S3 normally aspirated in Essex blue. It was wonderful when it was going, but in my few months of ownership I hardly did a single journey without some sort of issue. Gear lever came off in my hand reversing once , cracked manifold, cooling fan failures, clutch slipping, etc etc. Your experience brought it all back. Happy days!
What a beautiful car, I love all the little noises it makes, the joys of owning a classic car. I really wasn’t expecting the exhaust not to be there at the end 😂
What an amazing iconic car... Brilliant, We've forgotten how unrelaible and low tech old cars were. But what a character car and a labour of love. Awesome LOTUS. Lots of Trouble, Usually Serious.... Love it
Superb video. Tim was wonderful. His car collection is amazing. As soon as I win the jackpot in the lottery, I'm making a reservation for a week at his place to drive several great cars.
It's a Turbo Esprit, a Type 82, not an S3 - Type 85, which is the normally aspirated version. I'm in the process of putting a modified 1981 S3 back on the road. The previous owner put a 3.0 24V Busso in the back. I drive an Excel too.
Great Video !! I had a 1973 JPS Europa once and it NEVER broke down...I was always amazed that it fired right up and everything worked on it because the build quality was so so....anyway it was a blast to drive and the handling was amazing.
Brilliant, had as bigger smile on my face watching the video as you had driving the Lotus. Looking forward to the next one….. Real blast from the past.
Great video....I lost one of the rear boxes off my 1983 Lotus Excel years ago! I noticed the engine noise change a bit, but didn't think to much of it at the time lol When I got back home like you I noticed it missing...I went back to roughly where I thought I may have lost it and found it...and had it welded back on lol
I've owned an Esprit,Elan Sprint,Europa and an Elise for my sins all are great drivers cars . They need to be maintained properly and if they are they take some beating for pure fun at not daft speeds.
Fantastic car, I can remember when there was a Lotus garage in Braintree in Essex, called Bridge Motors that sold these new and 2nd hand, was always going their to look at the cars and wishing at 20 that I could afford one, I think they were about 15k new at the time!
This car looks so nice , it just has not dated at all.That JPS inspired livery is an eye catching one.40 years on still fondly remember that great Swede the one and only Ronnie Petterson.
Rumour has it that to get the Esprit in the Bond films 'someone' parked an S1 outside the doors at Pinewood studios and the producers saw it and said they had to have it. If its not true its a fine story!
I love the Esprit. There was one on display back in the early '80s in Victoria train station in JPS livery as a raffle prize. I was smitten and went around like a love sick teenager for days. A few years ago I had a customer come round and discovered on seeing him off that he was in an S1. He let me sit in it. As a 6ft plus guy, I suffered cramming myself in; I still love them, but from the outside only.
Interesting fact....so I'm told, the car used on the film The Spy Who Loved Me, had part of it's seat trim changed in colour as when it got pulled out of the water( by hidden chain) after the iconic submarine scene the standard tartan on the headrests didn't contrast well on the car with the sea, such was the attention to detail. It was re- trimmed to tone it down slightly......the rest is history.
Haha, I’m a few years younger than you Ped but my parents had a Mini City when I was growing up which we used to keep a peg in, to use on the choke. Incidentally, the later MPi Mini has a similar fuel cut off switch under the bonnet - a lesson learned with my own first car… Great video as always and what a great set up your friend has. I, like many other comments, might also have dived into the classifieds after watching! Hope you, Mrs P and the pups are all well
My favourite car to draw pre-1982 was the TR7 - another wedge shaped pop up headlighted British car - when they were working they were my dream car (shame most died of rust - I've not seen one in about 20 years now)
I brought one brand new in 83 ,red with tan, cost £18.125. from the London Sports Car Center on the Edgeware Rd. Can't remember it having any issues amazingly ! Had a lot of fun with it, great car in its day.............
What a lovely classic car. I love the Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger but my favourite bond film car is the white Toyota 2000GT Roadster from you only live twice.
My first car was a 12yo A Reg Ford Orion and it had certain eccentricities you needed to perform to keeping it running i.e. in the winter you had to pull out the choke at junctions to stop it stalling and finding reverse was like picking a Lock! But I remember when I got a newer car I missed those eccentricities as it added character!
The Lotus Esprit is brilliant. Like you (and many of us who grew up around the same time) I was underwhelmed when I first saw the Aston Martin DB5 in a Bond Film. Of course I have grown to like it since then.
1.DB5 2.DB10 3.Esprit (spy who loved me) 4.Vanquish S and XKR 5.Esprit turbo (for your eyes only) 6.Vantage V8 I think that's the name (timothy darlton 's bond car) 7.The Jaquar that accompanied the DB10 8.Z8 9.750 (or was it 40? Pierce bronsnon 7 series)
Great vid Pete! Love an S3 Esprit, either this colour scheme or the Copperfire of the Bond car. Definitely on my list... Then, imagine my surprise to see that they live about 300 yards from us and I've never seen the car before at all! Small world!
A friend had one in 1985(red with gold BBS wheels) and it broke down all of the time (usually serious of course). It had hardly done any miles then. It did look very striking it has to be said.
always for me - the White S1 Esprit,.... simple, stunning and perfect. Not overly keen on the additional spoilers and kit on the S3 - BUT,.. still lovely though
I had one of the last Esprit’s , the V8 Gt. It’s absolutely gorgeous to look at but sadly I didn’t drive it enough so sold it last spring. A real pity Lotus just didn’t get the mechanical build quality up as they could have sold many many more, although the glass fibre / resin bodywork always was excellent.
In 1982 I had cause to drive a few miles in a brand new JPS Lotus Esprit. I had always lusted after the Esprit, as it looked so gorgeous: but after driving it those few miles I was content with just admiring it from afar. Though quite exhilarating to drive, it was just not practical or that pleasant for an every day drive.
Lotus need to be properly maintained and tuned. This looks like a very nice example. Problems are only serious if they are neglected. Esprit also featured in Pretty Woman movie.
Lucky man. Looked absolutely great when it was new and with my 1970 eyes, looks just as good today. Roger Moore was not a fan however. Saw him in 2012 when he was doing the "In conversation/evening with..." thing in various theatres talking about his life. Cars came up, and whilst he liked the Volvo P1800, his experience of the Lotus was similar to yours. He found them difficult to get in and out of, cramped and when the Director shouted 'Action" would invariably start billowing steam and over heat. Great man, great car, great review 👍
I had a JPS Elan +2 back in the day. Kept it for 3 months, changing into 3rd the gear stick came off in your hand. In the end I could refit it with one hand whilst still driving.
@@PetrolPed Yeah, 40 years later I converted the Elise that had blue lights and sirens. ( Still got it 😂 ). Enjoy the industry Peter, the happy memories will last forever and the stories get funnier the more you tell them, ask the wife 😂😂.
It was always a dream car for me - they say never meet your hero’s but I got to drive one once. And it did not disappoint at all ! I was on a private test drive and the owner told me to give it some stick as “easy to slide it around”! I took it very carefully but gave it a boot in a straight line and was certainly quick - but no quicker than the Cooper S I bought instead. I don’t regret not buying it - would have been great to own but the repairs costs would be a constant I fear
Lucky enough to own a S3 turbo loved did did buy cheap and spend time on it . Fab lovely to drive really comfy when in. With sunroof out like a targa top. Fast enough not to expensive to run. Different too, no ferrari or porsche snobby stuff. All ways a thumbs. But theY need using regular so all ok skool electrics work. Make sure coolant hoses and fuel pipes replaced . Carbs all serviced will be fine. Oh old steel fuel tanks can rust and block fuel system.
Hi Ped Enjoyed this trip down memory lane. Can I request some more “Classic Car” videos if you have the time and vacant space in your programming schedule. On a personal note the 60 profile tyres do not look out of place.😉 I do recall that minor stoppages was par for the course and usually sorted without a call to the breakdown services.🤭
Great video, brought me back to my childhood memories of a poster I had of this lotus model on my bedroom wall. I bet the guy in the mini had a good time following you guys too. 😎 amazing car.
have been a passenger in a lotus, you sit very low to the ground. great experience going out in one. definitely one of the all time favourite bond cars.great video.
Loved this. Particularly fact as you say, driving these vintage (in my case slightly later classic Impreza) driving them up to 60 on twisty roads is best thing of all time…
Love this video, bought back memories of my Esprit Turbo. Had the same issue when changing gear meant hitting your knuckles on the radio. You develop a different grip on the gear lever after doing that a few times!
Did you know that Roger Moore considered buying a Lotus Esprit but Lotus would only give him a 2 pound discount so he didn't buy one. They actually used two Lotus Esprit's in For Your Eyes only the other one being a white one which got blown up when someone (the stuntman Bob Simmons) tried to break the window with the gun butt. Apparently when the film was shown in America the audience cheered because at that time in New York many people were getting their cars stolen and they wished their cars would explode when someone tried to break into them. We first saw the reddish Lotus Esprit Turbo in Q's workshop when Bond quips to him "Oh I see you managed to get the Lotus back together again". For me For Your Eyes Only will always be the best Bond film, great locations, great action together with a glorious musical score by Bill Conti.
The Lotus engine was already tuned and gave quite a lot of power for its displacement. Hence the light boost. Lotus also has a tradition of gradually increasing the power in models to get more sales. The Renault gearbox limited the power, the SE was really pushing it.
I have exactly the same car (same JPS colours too) and it has been thoroughly reliable. They really need to be maintained by a Lotus specialist annually which is surprisingly affordable. They are reliable cars when looked after properly.
Met a Lotus drivers club at a hotel in the highlands. The Cars look great, they were still waiting on two to arrive because they had broken down and you could see the ones in the Car park were cherished and look after but the quality was shocking. It took them twice to shut anything, bits tapped back on you name it. But to me that’s all part of it, yes thy are built cheaply but looks so great on the road.
Fond memories of being privileged to drive one of these many years ago. As I remember, the pedals were VERY close together and were more suited to ballet shoes than big wide shoes! These cars must be kept roadworthy for as long as possible, those of us ‘of a certain vintage’ revere cars such as this!
There was never such a thing as a Esprit Turbo S3. It's either a Esprit Turbo or Turbo Esprit. The Esprit S3 came afterwards and is normally aspirated.
Great Vid, I remember my Dad bringing one home once, he was chased by all the kids asking if it was a Ferrari, took great pleasure when he dropped my off at school in it 👍
Car Magazine, November 1981, Mel Nichols and Roger Cook take the Esprit Turbo to Glasgow through the Yorkshire Dales….one of the greatest drive stories ever.
My best mate had one of these (bright orange late s2 actually). Oh my goodness, we had some laughs in that car. The last time I was in it, we’d gone from Surrey where we lived to pick it up in south wales where his mate had been doing some resto work. Rob and I were due to drive it home on the Sunday via castle Combe in Wiltshire. The other two were bringing their cars to the track day in their newer models, one of which was a v8 and the other an s4. Robs speedo stopped working again on M4 - the others both disappeared behind us as we passed under a bridge on the M4, having all enjoyed a great drive cross country from Lampeter to join th3 motorway. They both had radar detectors which pinged the omega on the bridge. Fortunately, the boys in blue took pity on us as they didn’t give us a tug! When we left the M4, decided we would fill up with juice before we went in the circuit. Rob was enjoying the road holding on th3 A road, listening to rosette cassette, laughing about something or other…. We quickly stopped as we suddenly found ourselves facing the wrong way rather suddenly. What had looked like a slightly damp right handed clearly hadn’t thawed! Fortunately although we’d gone in to the oncoming lane, there was nothing coming the other way, and nothing was behind us and there was a land joking the a road that we quickly squirted in toto go and turn around. A Marlboro gold later, we cruised to the circuit. Our mates still hadn’t turned up so we had time for coffee. When they did, we found out they’d got lost. They did ask if we’d spotted the skid marks on the road. They wer3 surprised not to see the car still there. Until they noticed that the back bumper had a slightly muddy mark - so lucky, we’d literally just touched a low grassy bank with the bit just under the back bumper.
Ahhhhh the blaukrumpt radio, I remember them from when I was kid. I wanted to build a stereo with it on a sheet of plywood with 4 6’9’s and a enclosed Sub….bare in mind I wasn’t older enough to drive back then 😂
Dig those crazy panel gaps, man! In the 70s, I worked for Alan Foster at the London Sports Car Centre. Amongst others, we hheld the Lotus franchise and, when the Esprit was announced, the biggest moan dealers made was about the number of cylinders the car had, compared to what had now become its direct competitors. The old Elans and Europas were well-suited to small four cylinder lumps, but the Esprit was Chunky's idea of going up-market and that LV220 was a big disappointment, especially with the noise it made. The slightly later Elite, the four-seater, had the same marketing problem. A Stuttgart flat six or a Modena V6/V8 sounded so much better, and WERE better! Our demonstrator, a white S1, was delivered to us before the announcement embargo was lifted, so all the badges were taped over. Alan asked me to get it PDI'd and put enough miles on it to run it in. Already hating Lotus and not in the best of humours, I got in, ripping open a fingernail on the Marina door handle in the process and then had the trailing edge corner of the driver's window stab me, followed by a whack on my head from the door frame, all put me in a really foul mood. Pulling out in to the Edgware Road, I gave it a boot-full and, TWANG! the throttle cable parted company, leaving me to slither to a halt on tick-over. I have many Lotus tales, most of them probably litigious, so I'll leave it there. Never liked the things, never have, never will! Sorry Pete!
PETER!!!! PLEASE. PLEASE. PLEASE. MORE CARS OF THIS ERA TOOK ME RIGHT BACK TO MY TEENS FANTASTIC!!!!
Will do 👍
I have 3 Lotus, 89 Esprit SE Turbo, 82 S3 Esprit and a 76 Elite. Had them for 18 years and never once been stranded or had issues.
With you. The Esprit is my favourite. The S3 is stunning.
Used to have an S3 normally aspirated in Essex blue. It was wonderful when it was going, but in my few months of ownership I hardly did a single journey without some sort of issue. Gear lever came off in my hand reversing once , cracked manifold, cooling fan failures, clutch slipping, etc etc. Your experience brought it all back. Happy days!
What a beautiful car, I love all the little noises it makes, the joys of owning a classic car. I really wasn’t expecting the exhaust not to be there at the end 😂
What an amazing iconic car... Brilliant, We've forgotten how unrelaible and low tech old cars were. But what a character car and a labour of love. Awesome LOTUS. Lots of Trouble, Usually Serious.... Love it
Amazing design and definitely iconic but also built down to a price. Lotus. Bless'em.
Fond memories of playing Turbo Esprit on the ZX Spectrum in the 80s…….fantastic game!
Great computer 👌
i still have my 128k up the loft somewhere with joystick that plugs into the power pack that plugs into the back of the computer @@PetrolPed
Superb video. Tim was wonderful. His car collection is amazing. As soon as I win the jackpot in the lottery, I'm making a reservation for a week at his place to drive several great cars.
That is mega 👍
Extremely special you got to experience this beast even for however short a period. Very cool. Tim is doing great things with RGN Classics.
Couldn't agree more!
I love these Lotus Esprit's, they are so timeless! In my opinion they are as good looking as the Italian Wedge the Countach!
It's a Turbo Esprit, a Type 82, not an S3 - Type 85, which is the normally aspirated version. I'm in the process of putting a modified 1981 S3 back on the road. The previous owner put a 3.0 24V Busso in the back. I drive an Excel too.
I thought someone would point this out. I have an ‘83 S3 which I’m driving and gradually improving, documenting it on my channel.
I was about to point that out too! Glad someone else beat me to it.👍
I'd be interested in seeing your Busso engined Esprit.
Great Video !!
I had a 1973 JPS Europa once and it NEVER broke down...I was always amazed that it fired right up and everything worked on it because the build quality was so so....anyway it was a blast to drive and the handling was amazing.
Beautiful car,my favourite in the Essex Petroleum colours
Brilliant, had as bigger smile on my face watching the video as you had driving the Lotus. Looking forward to the next one….. Real blast from the past.
Great video....I lost one of the rear boxes off my 1983 Lotus Excel years ago! I noticed the engine noise change a bit, but didn't think to much of it at the time lol When I got back home like you I noticed it missing...I went back to roughly where I thought I may have lost it and found it...and had it welded back on lol
That’s what Tim did 😂
I've owned an Esprit,Elan Sprint,Europa and an Elise for my sins all are great drivers cars .
They need to be maintained properly and if they are they take some beating for pure fun at not daft speeds.
Cool cars 👍
Well said sir and every one is as uniquely beautiful. Ferrari...pah. lol
Doorhandle was used by Peugeot in their 505 to..slick design and great feel to open with it. That car looks amazing!!
Fantastic car, I can remember when there was a Lotus garage in Braintree in Essex, called Bridge Motors that sold these new and 2nd hand, was always going their to look at the cars and wishing at 20 that I could afford one, I think they were about 15k new at the time!
This car looks so nice , it just has not dated at all.That JPS inspired livery is an eye catching one.40 years on still fondly remember that great Swede the one and only Ronnie Petterson.
Rumour has it that to get the Esprit in the Bond films 'someone' parked an S1 outside the doors at Pinewood studios and the producers saw it and said they had to have it.
If its not true its a fine story!
The Esprit Turbo (white with red stripes) is my favorite of all simply because it was my first dream car.
I love the Esprit. There was one on display back in the early '80s in Victoria train station in JPS livery as a raffle prize. I was smitten and went around like a love sick teenager for days. A few years ago I had a customer come round and discovered on seeing him off that he was in an S1. He let me sit in it. As a 6ft plus guy, I suffered cramming myself in; I still love them, but from the outside only.
Interesting fact....so I'm told, the car used on the film The Spy Who Loved Me, had part of it's seat trim changed in colour as when it got pulled out of the water( by hidden chain) after the iconic submarine scene the standard tartan on the headrests didn't contrast well on the car with the sea, such was the attention to detail.
It was re- trimmed to tone it down slightly......the rest is history.
Nice 👌
Haha, I’m a few years younger than you Ped but my parents had a Mini City when I was growing up which we used to keep a peg in, to use on the choke. Incidentally, the later MPi Mini has a similar fuel cut off switch under the bonnet - a lesson learned with my own first car… Great video as always and what a great set up your friend has. I, like many other comments, might also have dived into the classifieds after watching! Hope you, Mrs P and the pups are all well
My favourite car to draw pre-1982 was the TR7 - another wedge shaped pop up headlighted British car - when they were working they were my dream car (shame most died of rust - I've not seen one in about 20 years now)
I brought one brand new in 83 ,red with tan, cost £18.125. from the London Sports Car Center on the Edgeware Rd. Can't remember it having any issues amazingly ! Had a lot of fun with it, great car in its day.............
What a lovely classic car. I love the Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger but my favourite bond film car is the white Toyota 2000GT Roadster from you only live twice.
Oh yes 🙌
My first car was a 12yo A Reg Ford Orion and it had certain eccentricities you needed to perform to keeping it running i.e. in the winter you had to pull out the choke at junctions to stop it stalling and finding reverse was like picking a Lock! But I remember when I got a newer car I missed those eccentricities as it added character!
Gotta love a Morris marina door handle
Cool aren’t they 👍
Toyota
The Lotus Esprit is brilliant. Like you (and many of us who grew up around the same time) I was underwhelmed when I first saw the Aston Martin DB5 in a Bond Film. Of course I have grown to like it since then.
What a car my all time favourite thanks for showing us
1.DB5
2.DB10
3.Esprit (spy who loved me)
4.Vanquish S and XKR
5.Esprit turbo (for your eyes only)
6.Vantage V8 I think that's the name (timothy darlton 's bond car)
7.The Jaquar that accompanied the DB10
8.Z8
9.750 (or was it 40? Pierce bronsnon 7 series)
Great video. I remember those days too, where every drive was an adventure, and I never left the toolbox at home. 🙂
Same here!
Great vid Pete! Love an S3 Esprit, either this colour scheme or the Copperfire of the Bond car. Definitely on my list...
Then, imagine my surprise to see that they live about 300 yards from us and I've never seen the car before at all!
Small world!
Right on!
Drove the Esprit Turbo S4 once, and only once. It was fabulously fast and very yellow. Late 90s and my Boss bought one as a toy.
A friend had one in 1985(red with gold BBS wheels) and it broke down all of the time (usually serious of course). It had hardly done any miles then. It did look very striking it has to be said.
always for me - the White S1 Esprit,.... simple, stunning and perfect. Not overly keen on the additional spoilers and kit on the S3 - BUT,.. still lovely though
Great fun to watch that video, PP. Bring up the others from the 80s, what a great time that was.
Glad you enjoyed it
I had one of the last Esprit’s , the V8 Gt. It’s absolutely gorgeous to look at but sadly I didn’t drive it enough so sold it last spring. A real pity Lotus just didn’t get the mechanical build quality up as they could have sold many many more, although the glass fibre / resin bodywork always was excellent.
Owner has a good sense of humour.
He sure does 👍
Hey awesome video actually owner has a good sense of humour 😅😅😅
He sure does 👍
I used to joke that the door handles on my Allegro estate where from the Lotus Esprit.... LOL...
😂😂😂
Thank you ! marvelous car ! I have a Sunbeam Lotus with the four cylinder but no turbo.
I like very much this car and the choke system..so clever !
Glad you like it!
A classic taking me back to my childhood. Thanks Pete & Tim for the nostalgia & have a good weekend 👍
Thanks, you too!
In 1982 I had cause to drive a few miles in a brand new JPS Lotus Esprit. I had always lusted after the Esprit, as it looked so gorgeous: but after driving it those few miles I was content with just admiring it from afar. Though quite exhilarating to drive, it was just not practical or that pleasant for an every day drive.
fabulous thing, although a little unfair to criticise a 40 year old car for faults ! still think they are one of the best styled mid engine cars.
Lotus need to be properly maintained and tuned. This looks like a very nice example. Problems are only serious if they are neglected. Esprit also featured in Pretty Woman movie.
Lucky man. Looked absolutely great when it was new and with my 1970 eyes, looks just as good today. Roger Moore was not a fan however. Saw him in 2012 when he was doing the "In conversation/evening with..." thing in various theatres talking about his life. Cars came up, and whilst he liked the Volvo P1800, his experience of the Lotus was similar to yours. He found them difficult to get in and out of, cramped and when the Director shouted 'Action" would invariably start billowing steam and over heat. Great man, great car, great review 👍
Hello PP. loved these as a kid. Sod’s Law that it would misbehave on film. I still have my toy in the loft.
What a great wheel and tyre combination. They look so good. Bring back proper high profile tyres. Your cars suspension will thank you.
I had a JPS Elan +2 back in the day. Kept it for 3 months, changing into 3rd the gear stick came off in your hand. In the end I could refit it with one hand whilst still driving.
Skills 👌😂
@@PetrolPed Yeah, 40 years later I converted the Elise that had blue lights and sirens. ( Still got it 😂 ). Enjoy the industry Peter, the happy memories will last forever and the stories get funnier the more you tell them, ask the wife 😂😂.
I’m a 100 percent with you on the Lotus but I was more interested in the Yamaha XT 500 when I was young 🏍️
Fair enough!
Perfect design..modern face..comfortable model 👏👌
Thank you so much 😀
My favourite Bond car was the white submarine version. Just love it.
This was my favourite super car when I was a teenager especially in this livery.
Mine too 👍
My favourite bond car too. Loved the colour and the skis on the back!
It was always a dream car for me - they say never meet your hero’s but I got to drive one once. And it did not disappoint at all ! I was on a private test drive and the owner told me to give it some stick as “easy to slide it around”! I took it very carefully but gave it a boot in a straight line and was certainly quick - but no quicker than the Cooper S I bought instead. I don’t regret not buying it - would have been great to own but the repairs costs would be a constant I fear
Lucky enough to own a S3 turbo loved did did buy cheap and spend time on it . Fab lovely to drive really comfy when in. With sunroof out like a targa top. Fast enough not to expensive to run. Different too, no ferrari or porsche snobby stuff. All ways a thumbs.
But theY need using regular so all ok skool electrics work. Make sure coolant hoses and fuel pipes replaced . Carbs all serviced will be fine. Oh old steel fuel tanks can rust and block fuel system.
lovely old car that i always wanted one
Hi Ped
Enjoyed this trip down memory lane. Can I request some more “Classic Car” videos if you have the time and vacant space in your programming schedule. On a personal note the 60 profile tyres do not look out of place.😉 I do recall that minor stoppages was par for the course and usually sorted without a call to the breakdown services.🤭
What a car this is the aqua transformer one in James Bond those underwater shots are gorgeous keep it up PP
I would break down too if I was a Lotus and you drove me wearing a Porsche jacket 😎
😂😂😂
What a stunning vehicle I love it so special more pleased on any esprit 👍😍
Glad you like it!
Great video, brought me back to my childhood memories of a poster I had of this lotus model on my bedroom wall. I bet the guy in the mini had a good time following you guys too. 😎 amazing car.
Glad you enjoyed it 👍
My favourite James bond film is moonraker brilliant film love jaws in the movie
have been a passenger in a lotus, you sit very low to the ground. great experience going out in one. definitely one of the all time favourite bond cars.great video.
Thanks 🙏🏻
Stunning.
Dream car!
Best thing about the morris was the doors handles....
Loved this. Particularly fact as you say, driving these vintage (in my case slightly later classic Impreza) driving them up to 60 on twisty roads is best thing of all time…
Yep 👍
Fantastic, Pete! I'm pretty sure Tim's collection will be pretty much my dream garage.
Mine too!
Love this video, bought back memories of my Esprit Turbo. Had the same issue when changing gear meant hitting your knuckles on the radio. You develop a different grip on the gear lever after doing that a few times!
Did you know that Roger Moore considered buying a Lotus Esprit but Lotus would only give him a 2 pound discount so he didn't buy one. They actually used two Lotus Esprit's in For Your Eyes only the other one being a white one which got blown up when someone (the stuntman Bob Simmons) tried to break the window with the gun butt. Apparently when the film was shown in America the audience cheered because at that time in New York many people were getting their cars stolen and they wished their cars would explode when someone tried to break into them. We first saw the reddish Lotus Esprit Turbo in Q's workshop when Bond quips to him "Oh I see you managed to get the Lotus back together again". For me For Your Eyes Only will always be the best Bond film, great locations, great action together with a glorious musical score by Bill Conti.
No way 😳😂
My dream car!
Well classic Lotus ownership is never dull is it 😂👏👍
You got that right!
4:30 Those are Rover SD1 rear lights I believe?
The Lotus engine was already tuned and gave quite a lot of power for its displacement. Hence the light boost. Lotus also has a tradition of gradually increasing the power in models to get more sales. The Renault gearbox limited the power, the SE was really pushing it.
Looks great and I hv similar tyres on the Quattro, its all part of the suspension for ride comfort ☺️
Right on!
I have exactly the same car (same JPS colours too) and it has been thoroughly reliable. They really need to be maintained by a Lotus specialist annually which is surprisingly affordable. They are reliable cars when looked after properly.
Nice 👌
Nothing beats driving your favourite car....with Chevy Chase in the passenger seat! Bring back the 80's.
😂😂😂
I stopped driving on UK roads because they are so bad. I moved to France and the roads are perfect and empty, true driving pleasure.
Yep 👍
seeing the rover SD1 rear lights the morris marina door handles you know you have a parts bin car.
Met a Lotus drivers club at a hotel in the highlands. The Cars look great, they were still waiting on two to arrive because they had broken down and you could see the ones in the Car park were cherished and look after but the quality was shocking. It took them twice to shut anything, bits tapped back on you name it. But to me that’s all part of it, yes thy are built cheaply but looks so great on the road.
Real classic car experience.
Fond memories of being privileged to drive one of these many years ago. As I remember, the pedals were VERY close together and were more suited to ballet shoes than big wide shoes! These cars must be kept roadworthy for as long as possible, those of us ‘of a certain vintage’ revere cars such as this!
Did you notice I wore my Sparco driving shoes especially 😜😂
@@PetrolPed and that’s why ‘proper’ drivers wear proper footwear!
The squeaks and rattles would drive me insane,.. great car to look at, but you would have to be either stupid rich, or on meds, to buy and own one. 😂
Always liked that colour scheme, which was replicated by some other manufacturers over the years in more mundane cars.
Fantastic car if your that vintage . Don't give it a hard time for stopping . These little issues can be sorted out .
Very true!
Beautiful car, also my favourite Bond car. Pete muttered the pronunciation of Giugiaro though. 😖 I believe it’s pronounced (phonetically) JU-JAR-0.
Probably 🤷♂️
Envy, envy!!
There was never such a thing as a Esprit Turbo S3. It's either a Esprit Turbo or Turbo Esprit. The Esprit S3 came afterwards and is normally aspirated.
Great Vid, I remember my Dad bringing one home once, he was chased by all the kids asking if it was a Ferrari, took great pleasure when he dropped my off at school in it 👍
Very cool!
Anyone else go straight to Pistonheads after this?!
Hahaha
Eric and Margaret
Yes also looked at the RR Silver Shadow.
LOTUS spells Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious.
Brilliant! Very amusing.
👍
Car Magazine, November 1981, Mel Nichols and Roger Cook take the Esprit Turbo to Glasgow through the Yorkshire Dales….one of the greatest drive stories ever.
Yes. Great & evocative review. It’s clear the Espirit was a fabulous & v quick car back in the day. Ped didnt even floor it by the look s of it!
My best mate had one of these (bright orange late s2 actually). Oh my goodness, we had some laughs in that car. The last time I was in it, we’d gone from Surrey where we lived to pick it up in south wales where his mate had been doing some resto work. Rob and I were due to drive it home on the Sunday via castle Combe in Wiltshire. The other two were bringing their cars to the track day in their newer models, one of which was a v8 and the other an s4.
Robs speedo stopped working again on M4 - the others both disappeared behind us as we passed under a bridge on the M4, having all enjoyed a great drive cross country from Lampeter to join th3 motorway. They both had radar detectors which pinged the omega on the bridge. Fortunately, the boys in blue took pity on us as they didn’t give us a tug!
When we left the M4, decided we would fill up with juice before we went in the circuit. Rob was enjoying the road holding on th3 A road, listening to rosette cassette, laughing about something or other…. We quickly stopped as we suddenly found ourselves facing the wrong way rather suddenly. What had looked like a slightly damp right handed clearly hadn’t thawed! Fortunately although we’d gone in to the oncoming lane, there was nothing coming the other way, and nothing was behind us and there was a land joking the a road that we quickly squirted in toto go and turn around.
A Marlboro gold later, we cruised to the circuit. Our mates still hadn’t turned up so we had time for coffee. When they did, we found out they’d got lost. They did ask if we’d spotted the skid marks on the road. They wer3 surprised not to see the car still there. Until they noticed that the back bumper had a slightly muddy mark - so lucky, we’d literally just touched a low grassy bank with the bit just under the back bumper.
Nice 👍
Fantastic car.Always liked them Thank you for this one.Can't wait to see what else you get to drive.
More to come!
Ahhhhh the blaukrumpt radio, I remember them from when I was kid. I wanted to build a stereo with it on a sheet of plywood with 4 6’9’s and a enclosed Sub….bare in mind I wasn’t older enough to drive back then 😂
Blue Spot 😜😂
Dig those crazy panel gaps, man!
In the 70s, I worked for Alan Foster at the London Sports Car Centre. Amongst others, we hheld the Lotus franchise and, when the Esprit was announced, the biggest moan dealers made was about the number of cylinders the car had, compared to what had now become its direct competitors. The old Elans and Europas were well-suited to small four cylinder lumps, but the Esprit was Chunky's idea of going up-market and that LV220 was a big disappointment, especially with the noise it made. The slightly later Elite, the four-seater, had the same marketing problem. A Stuttgart flat six or a Modena V6/V8 sounded so much better, and WERE better!
Our demonstrator, a white S1, was delivered to us before the announcement embargo was lifted, so all the badges were taped over. Alan asked me to get it PDI'd and put enough miles on it to run it in. Already hating Lotus and not in the best of humours, I got in, ripping open a fingernail on the Marina door handle in the process and then had the trailing edge corner of the driver's window stab me, followed by a whack on my head from the door frame, all put me in a really foul mood.
Pulling out in to the Edgware Road, I gave it a boot-full and, TWANG! the throttle cable parted company, leaving me to slither to a halt on tick-over. I have many Lotus tales, most of them probably litigious, so I'll leave it there.
Never liked the things, never have, never will!
Sorry Pete!
Great video Pete.. love the car!!
Thanks 👍