1998 Lotus Esprit V8 Coupe 2-Door 3.5L, upgraded to over 500hp at the wheels

Up for Auction is my 1998 Lotus Esprit V8

This has been cherished for the last ten years by a knowledgeable Lotus enthusiast and former professional special interest mechanic. The car has been carefully exercised regularly and has been sensibly modified to deliver staggering performance. The car is amazing fun to drive and looks stunning. Unfortunately I just no longer have the free space in my garage and the free time to enjoy it. It certainly deserves to be driven. Looking at the rising prices recently for the Porsche 911s and Ferrari 308s and 355s, his car is an unbelievable bargain. It is dramatically faster, rguably better looking, ar more rare, ighter, nd is cheaper to maintain than options that cost at least twice as much. The car has just under 45,000 miles.

I have a clear Ohio title in hand. However, utoCheck/Carfax list the car as being stolen and recovered in 1999. I was told that this was a result of the original owner not honoring the terms of his divorce. His ex-wife subsequently reported it stolen when he failed to comply. I am unable to confirm this story. Nonetheless, he insurance company clearly paid a claim on a missing vehicle per the AutoCheck report. There is also a report that the car wasrepossessed twelve years ago. I am told that this was a result of the owner losing interest relative to his other investments. He handed it back to the bank. It was suggested there may have been a divorce involved there too. Ten years of owning this car has not resulted in any troubles for my own marriage. I will note that if there were to be any issues from abuse or neglect stemming from these events, hey certainly would have shown up by now. These are exciting cars, o we might expect there to be some drama within the lives of its owners. There are other cars better suited to time-capsule preservation than this one, ut after thorough inspection I am 100% confident that the car has never been even close to 'totalled' and that if there were any repairs made over the years they were very well executed. I have included a photo of my clear title.

This is a beautiful car, n excellent mechanical condition, eady to enjoy thoroughly.

Engine:

Lotus-Designed and built, .5ltr flat plane, our cam, win turbo V8

Upgraded DR700L Turbos with upgraded wastegate capsules

See http://www.dynamicracing.com/lotus-esprit-turbo/lotus-v8-turbo-upgrades/lotus-v8-dr700-turbo-upgrade for turbo details

Snow Performance Proportional Water/Methanol Injection

Lotus Factory Red Race ECU shipped from Lotus UK.

Blitz Boost controller with integrated wide-band Air/Fuel ratio meter, educed boost below 60 to attempt to maintain traction, cramble boost features, nd adjustable boost ramp rate.

Apex RFL Blow off Valves

Straight exhaust from the turbos back to center exit. No cats. No mufflers. The sound is amazing, ut surprisingly mild at idle and part throttle due to the turbos. Stock muffler and hollowed cats are included, ut no one finds the current setup offensive. At full chat, ew cars sound better than this Esprit.

I have never dyno-ed this car, ut I have attached the dyno sheets for the same setup on another Esprit V8. He made 512 at the wheels at 18psi of boost. His number was markedly higher at the 25psi the turbos will support with race gas, ut I have never been tempted to try that myself.

Silicon Coolant Hoses throughout

Timing belts changed 14K miles ago

Custom upgraded aluminum radiator with high flow fans. See picture for comparison to stock

New motor mounts last season

New upgraded alternator last season

Chassis, heels, nd Brakes:

Spax adjustable coil-overs all around. Rears are new last season (one was leaking).

Complete and exact alignment to factory specs.

Stock Brembo brakes with custom Carbo Tech Pads

The wheels are Plasti-Dipped black. These can be peeled clean, ike vinyl, o expose the powdercoating in a custom light gold in excellent condition underneath. See photos.

Transmission:

Other than fresh seals and regular Royal Purple fluid changes, he transmission is stock. I have been told that the transmissions were ultimately the weak link on these cars and the reason Lotus detuned their amazing engine from the beginning. I suspect the reputation was more a driven by ham-fisted drivers than engineering weakness. Nonetheless, do have available, UT NOT INCLUDED a Porsche G50 transmission that has been converted to run upside down (for mid engine) and all theadapterparts (albeit crudely executed) that were used to run this trans on a Esprit V8 race car in Europe. I will list the transmission setup separately for ~$6k. These transmissions are reputedly capable of handling 800 hp. I didn’t race the car and shifted conservatively, hus never needed to install the upgrade myself.

Interior:

Nardi Steering wheel with customadapter. Factory airbag wheel available.

Final Edition seats with diamond pattern. These were installed when I bought the car. I can’t imagine what a new pair would cost if you could find them.

Carbon Fiber binnacle and switch panel. A one off from MA Carbon. Not holding up all that well to be honest, ut the original parts are included if the line in the weave bothers you.

Center Armrest recovered in alcantara.

The interior is in excellent condition.

A/C Blows cold

Exterior:

Paint is very nice, ut not perfect. The bumpers have been repainted a couple times from 'minor events' and the rear quarter was repainted a few years ago after an off-track excursion at my sole open track day with this car. The panel suffered only minor cracks and the paint match is perfect, ut could use a good color sanding to remove all evidence of past body work. There is a scratch low on the front corner and some stone chips in the front. The tub (other than the rear quarter mentioned above) and chassis have never been damaged. The paint flaws are only noticeable to the meticulous. The flat black stripes are vinyl and therefore removable. I also have spare stripes if you don’t like the Lotus logo on the hood. The car won 1st place V8 Esprit at the last two Lotus Owners Gatherings I attended (national club meeting and show LOG 30 & LOG 33) against 20+ cars. So despite the flaws mentioned, t still shows exceptionally well.

I wouldn't hesitate to drive it anywhere. But this car does require full attention to drive. It has ABS, ut none of the other electronic features to protect you from bad judgement or lack of finesse. This means the car is hugely entertaining to drive.

The car has only the glass roof. I do not have the solid black one but they do come available frequently. Sun is rare in Cleveland so I had no use whatsoever for the solid roof.

Tools, ooks, nd assorted spares included.

Here is a video of a Lotus Esprit with similar modifications outrunning a Lamborghini Gallardo if you care about such things:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye-mUK_S_SU

I will no doubt regret selling this car. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and know the new owner will do the same.

I also expect we are at the cusp of a big surge in prices as other near exotics from this period continue to move upward aggressively. The car is also for sale locally so I reserve the right to end the auction early. Please bid to win.

Regards,

Rod

$1000 deposit is due (preferably via paypal) within 48 hours of Auction close. The balance is due within 7 days of auction close. Shipping is the buyer's responsibility, ut I will assist in any way possible. I am also moments from the Cleveland airport if the weather cooperates for a drive home.