Highlights
- Four owners from new
- Early right-hand drive X180
- Certificate of provenance from Hethel
- Garaged by the owner since 2007
- 16,047 miles indicated (five figure odometer)
The Appeal
When Lotus launched the S3 Esprit in 1982, they clearly decided that fantastic wedge styling, pop-up lights and superb handling weren’t quite enough, so they popped a turbo on for good measure and the Esprit Turbo was born.
In 1987, Giugiaro’s classic 70s styling was updated by Peter Stevens, who smoothed some of the hard edges, creating a more modern looking car. This is one of those cars – an early ‘X180’. The handsome styling is wonderfully complemented with smart, metallic Steel Blue paintwork. It’s clearly been very well maintained and has benefitted from many years of careful ownership, garaging and dry Spanish weather.
If you’re after a solid, highly original and well specified right-hand drive Esprit Turbo, you’ll be hard pressed to find a nicer, usable example.
The History and Paperwork
- First registered in September 1987
- Four owners from new
- Purchased in Zurich in December 2007
- Initially imported to the US, second and third owners were Swiss
- Imported, all documentation completed
- Spanish ITV (MOT equivalent) to November 2023
- The vendor tells us the car has a part main dealer service history
- HPI history clear
- Certificate of provenance from Hethel
- Full workshop manual
- Garaged by the owner since 2007
- 16,047 miles indicated (five figure odometer)
- Selling as the owner has a new car and this is barely use
The Interior
- Beige leather upholstery
- Electric windows and door mirrors
- Blaupunkt sound system with aux input
- Air conditioning
- Manual glass sunroof
One of the practical advantages to mid-engined layouts is the packaging. With a luggage compartment to the front (quite small) and rear (surprisingly commodious), the Esprit is actually a very capable grand tourer as well as a sports car. It’ll comfortably carry all you need for a week away somewhere sunny, and at the front there’s a full-size spare too too.
Grey carpet runs through both the rear luggage compartment and the cabin itself. It all looks to be in good order, with no damage or staining that we could see. This is nicely contrasted with the beige leather upholstery, which the vendor tells us is original – and it certainly looks that way. There’s some natural patination and light wear evident to the seats and a couple of scuffs to the door cards, but nothing out of character for the age of the car.
All of the switchgear, instruments and trim looks to be in good order. There’s no damage, cracking or significant wear we could see. The vendor tells us that everything works as it should, with the only issue being that the passenger side electric window is a little slow.
The Exterior
- Steel Blue metallic paintwork
- Pop-up headlights and integrated front fog lights
- Factory alloy wheels
The paintwork presents in overall fine condition for the age, with a few marks and blemishes but nothing we would consider significant. In fact, it appears to be original and has been kept remarkably well - clearly the dry weather and indoor storage have benefited the car.
Of course, like all Hethel products, the Esprit is minimally detailed and styled for lightness and performance. All of the bodywork and trim elements look to be in good condition, with no trim or badging missing as far as we could see. There are no cracks or notable areas of damage to the fibreglass that we could see, other than a couple of minor blemishes and slight scuffs. Similarly, the glass areas and light lenses are in good order, with no cracking or misting apparent.
Wheels are the original factory 15-inch alloys, which look to be in nice overall condition. They’re shod with a matched set of Continental tyres that appear to be in fine fettle, with no damage to the sidewalls we could identify.
Looking underneath, the floor panels show well being clean and straight, with no evidence of damage. The anti-roll bars appear to be starting to corrode, but other than that all of the drivetrain elements we could see look to be well-preserved.
The Mechanics
- 2,174cc inline-four, turbocharged
- Five-speed manual transmission
- New exhaust system
With 215hp all being delivered to the rear wheels from the mid-mounted turbo unit, this light, agile sports car truly offers a thrilling drive. With a manual transmission too, there’s all the engagement a driver could desire.
We’re told by the vendor that they have fitted a new exhaust system and that the car drives very well, with fine acceleration, good braking and lively handling. The engine bay is very clean and tidy, with no issues apparent. Meanwhile, the vendor tells us that the car has no leaks, that there are no untoward noises or vibrations, and no smoke under load. In fact, they tell us that, for the 15 years they have owned the car, it has been “very reliable and trustworthy”.
Summary
Not much tugs at the heart strings like a Lotus Esprit. It’s one of those cars where they got the design spot on and, if you like your cars to be properly engaging, it’s quite capable of making your favourite B-road feel like the Green Hell.
Presented in a smart spec, with a good history and hardly any use in recent years, we think this is an absolute peach of a machine. Certainly, we don’t think there’s much else out there that offers the winning combination of character and spiritedness of these late-80s Esprits – and this is a very fine example.
Notice to bidders
This item is sold on an ‘As is Where is’ basis. The condition of this item is the opinion of the seller and may differ from your own opinion. Photos and listing descriptions are for guidance purposes only*.** Car & Classic do not warrant listing accuracy. Full inspection is recommended. Viewings are at the seller’s discretion. Buyer is responsible for delivery and collection of any item purchased.*
A non-refundable buyer’s deposit is payable on this item, refer to FAQs and T&Cs for the applicable percentage.
All bidding, buying and offers are subject to our Terms and Conditions.
