1981 Lotus Turbo Esprit - part 1

A quick look at an iconic '80s car - The 1981 Turbo Esprit. This example of one of Giorgetto Giugiaro's most distinctive shapes is a rare dry-sump car. It is similar to the one Roger Moore used briefly in 'For Your Eyes Only'. The only differences (apart from the anti-theft device!) are the wheels which are the later BBS alloys and the red leather interior. The Bond car had Compomotive wheels and tobacco brown leather inside.

Note the period correct Goodyear Eagle NCT tyres and very cool Panasonic roof stereo which was a very expensive extra at the time (near £1000 back in '81) and something which makes this example even rarer.

There will be much more on this car as the weather improves in 2014 so watch this space!

[grahamr]

I had the limited 1980 Essex turbo No10 which this car followed and is rarer

[bla]

I so much love this era of supercars. Thanks for sharing, great car you got there, sire.

[ramsayward]

I wish I'd kept mine. They're going up in price.

[stephennoble]

That white 'Lotus' infill on the rear bumper, is that factory done? Looks cool!!

[DrPittenstein]

Just uploaded a better video of this car on my channel, entitled '1981 Lotus Turbo Esprit - part 2'.

[CorneliusRushtie]

Does it have the self destruction feature if someone tries to smash the window with a crowbar??!

[wasimrehman]

hi, what is that on the roof? was it an amp for upgraded stereo?

[gavz]

Hi there,
Just wondering if you can tell me more about these? A neighbor has 1 rotting in his front yard. (Has a 928 rotting also, but I could care less about that haha).


It makes me sad to see it, very rare car. Do you know what they are worth these days in good shape? Did hey suffer badly from rust? How easy is it to get parts for them still? Love the BBS alloys and decals on it though.

[steverolfe]

where can I get one of those roof consoles?

[Tony-]

Didn't that designer also work at Bertone ?