Esprit ENGINE TRANSPLANTS?

[MRDANGERUS]

Has anyone tried a 3 rotor 20b turbocharged engine into Esprit?

The three-rotor 20B-REW was only used in the 1990-1995 Eunos Cosmo. It was the world's first volume production twin-turbo setup featured in both 13B-REW & 20B-REW form. It displaced 1962 cc (three 654 cc rotors) and used 0.7-bar (70 kPa) of turbo pressure to produce 300 horsepower (224 kW) and 407 newton metres (300 ft·lbf).


1990-1995 Eunos Cosmo engine fully dressed:

[88 E5PR1T]

Interesting engine. But why is this a good choice for the Esprit?

I've seen two with SHO conversions, one was a G-body on eBay about a year ago.

[jtrealty]

I know of several "transplants" where the Lotus engine was used, none involve going that way. The Lotus V-8 was removed to use in another car not the other way around. It would seem there is not much to choose from to "improve" the engine choice in a Lotus V-8. There is also the big problem of the transaxle. Not a lot of choices and the difficulty in mating to it. Besides, in most cases the Lotus V-8 is more car than most drivers can handle with the stock arrangement!
David Teitelbaum

[MRDANGERUS]

The question of the engine choice emerged when we had a conversation about a replacement for the fire damaged 4 pot Lotus engine (total melt down).
Someone did put a modified Buick Regal GNX motor in a Lotus Esprit G and here it is! If you know anything about the 1987 Buick Regal GNX, then you just begin to understand what kind of power and reliability this car has.

Start with a stock 3460 lb. 1987 Buick GNX with an automatic transmission running 0-60 in 4.7 seconds and the ¼ mile in 13.5 seconds (verified at howstuffworks.com) and delete everything but the motor. Then add many performance upgrades, a 5 speed upgraded manual transmission, and put it in a 2500 lb. exotic car. When you mash the accelerator, you either spill out uncontrollable expletives or think of the movie “Gladiator” just after Russell Crowe commands, “UNLEASH HELL”.

Has been reported that this is a low-mid 11-second ¼-mile rocket only limited by your level of fear and transmission. Also thrilling is getting waves of admiration and thumbs up from other drivers. In addition to mind-blowing power another benefit of this arrangement is its very light weight. Fuel-injected motor exceeds an average of 24 MPG when driven with respect. For the truly insane, only $1200 in modern performance Buick parts would add another 110 HP…

http://www.autoblog.com/photos/1979-...-gnx-turbo-v6/

[s2mikey]

Maybe Im just a Lotus-geek or whatever but I want NO other engine in my Esprit other than the blown-910 that it came with.

[Quicker]

there have been a few - an Audi V8, a BMW v12, ... the people stuck with it and after years and $much$ custom work the cars are on the road.

Audi - > 4.2 V8 ABZ conversion of Lotus Esprit :: motorgeek.com 20 pages of reading of the conversion but the car is a piece of art now and gets lots of attention.

[delomike1049]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

Maybe Im just a Lotus-geek or whatever but I want NO other engine in my Esprit other than the blown-910 that it came with.

+1

Not only is the engine perfect for the car, it is also really friggin' cool looking.

[jtrealty]

Some of the problems associated with doing an engine transplant include resale value, documentation for repair and parts replacement, workmanship, and such. If you already know that the Buick engine swap is so great why did you ask about the rotary? Generally it is going to cost more to do an engine swap in terms of time AND money that trying to stay stock. Not only do you have to buy and replace the motor (which you have to do in both cases), you have to modify and convert many of the systems in the car to make the swap work. Unless you are working for a customer with a large bank account or you happen to have the motor and a lot of time it usually doesn't make sense. If you are going to Hot-Rod a car and do engine swaps there are better candidates than a Lotus. Even an engine that had a "complete melt-down" can have a lot of salvageable parts in it. Now, if the back of the car burnt off, you have bigger problems than a melted motor! Maybe Guy would be interested? Even a Lotus with the 4 cylinder motor is more car than most people can handle safely.
David Teitelbaum

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by jtrealty

Some of the problems associated with doing an engine transplant include resale value, documentation for repair and parts replacement, workmanship, and such. If you already know that the Buick engine swap is so great why did you ask about the rotary? Generally it is going to cost more to do an engine swap in terms of time AND money that trying to stay stock. Not only do you have to buy and replace the motor (which you have to do in both cases), you have to modify and convert many of the systems in the car to make the swap work. Unless you are working for a customer with a large bank account or you happen to have the motor and a lot of time it usually doesn't make sense. If you are going to Hot-Rod a car and do engine swaps there are better candidates than a Lotus. Even an engine that had a "complete melt-down" can have a lot of salvageable parts in it. Now, if the back of the car burnt off, you have bigger problems than a melted motor! Maybe Guy would be interested? Even a Lotus with the 4 cylinder motor is more car than most people can handle safely.
David Teitelbaum

All good points - and I still maintain that once you take the correct engine out of a car, you've essentially just made into a backyard, hot-rod custom project. It just ruins it, IMO.

The Lotus 2.2 engine is a gem - just keep them fluids fresh, do your major services on time, and let her warm up and cool down properly. You cant go wrong. Makes plenty of power for the car. Mine has the Euro cams and that bumps up the power and torque a bit. Has a nice, lumpy idle too - Ive had comments that it sounds like half of a big musclecar V8

[shill68]

Yuck, there's a lot of motors I'd like to see in a Lotus, none of them would be a Wankel. In fact it's a very popular swap now to put something else in an RX7 besides the rotary because they are so fickle and unreliable. I doubt if the 3-rotor Cosmos motor would be any different. Besides, they sound like absolute poo.

A nice reliable LS7 would be a fun swap, you'd obviously have to use a different transaxle, but it could be done. Tons of power, fantastic reliability, and reasonable weight. There's 1500 horsepower Gallardos running around out there, I'd hardly say that a 500-600hp Lotus is something one could easily get used to.

[carbuff]

MR DANGEROUS is just trying to make you guys THINK.

Unless his plans for mods went...up in smoke.

[Westrock]

Transaxle is always the issue. G50 is popular but not cheap.

Have you looked at the weight on those things. The 13B was pretty heavy relative to its size. Lots of iron in those puppies.

[MotoGeek]

If I an early Esprit with a trashed engine, the first thing I'd want to do is stick a modern V8 in it. Although I have to admit, the Grand National swap is pretty cool. You could also get that engine (slightly upgraded I think) in a Trans Am. My dad had one when i was in high school. It was a pretty amazing engine for it's time. It's a shame it was only available with an automatic.

[lotuselise7]

Originally Posted by shill68

Yuck, there's a lot of motors I'd like to see in a Lotus, none of them would be a Wankel.

SERIOUSLY!

[lotusforsale]

I've seen two G Bodied Esprits with the SHO conversion, one S1 or S2 with the Buick (Rover) V8 and have heard of at least one other with the Buick/Rover engine.

15 or so years ago I knew a guy who had an S2 Europa with a rotary transplant. Claimed he was getting around 220hp in his 1500 lb car.

[MRDANGERUS]

You got it right, Carbuff. Besides, it is good to gage "the pulse".

Here would be my choice: H1 V8, compact and powerfull,
HOME PAGE...

[carbuff]

Originally Posted by MRDANGERUS

Here would be my choice: H1 V8, compact and powerful,
Hartley

Interesting...

Not much torque for a V8.

"Odd-Fire" V8? Are there any other cars fitted with this type of engine? I thought a 90 degree V8 was "most balanced". The 2007 - 2004 Esprit V8 has a Flat-Plane crank (as do the later Ferrari V8s). This is supposed to be good for added power...

Is this a "bespoke" design or based on a production block?

[Sanj]

IIRC that's a couple of Hayabusa 4-cylinder motorcycle heads on a bespoke 8-cylinder block. But I've been wrong before...

[MRDANGERUS]

You are right, Sanj !
Check the "History" at the side bar.

[shill68]

I love those V8 Atoms, that would be a great engine for the Esprit.