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Yes many more photos would be appreciated.
Some of the undercarriage would be great too since you have a 4 post lift.
And if you can share the VIN plate and date codes on the tires.
Since you have the tools for doing the cam belts, do you know date and at what miles they were done last ?
Kindest regards.

 

VIN: SCCDC08213HA10459
Tires: Fronts are from 2015 and rears are from 2016
Belts: Blue Gates - Installed September 2017 at 92,261 miles

 

I will keep you in mind. I love all Esprit......

 

Wow, great price for a 2003 V8, despite the mileage. The car is in CA, so lots of knowledgeable Esprit mechanics out there that can service the car before it gets shipped to final home. GLWS.

 

I can assure you. If my health were just a bit better, like so as to assume the "Lotus" position required to track down the vacuum leak, I would not be selling. This has been and will be a great driver's car. It doesn't show it's mileage in appearance and will never lose it's style.

 

Price has been lowered. Would hate to go the Kars4Kids route!

 

Also includes a pair of after-market catalytic converters. They work fine with no error codes but are not CARB legal in California.

 

Hate to hear of any health-related sale. Wish I could figure out a way to squeeze another Esprit into one useable garage space. Best of luck with the sale and your health, sir!

 

Thanks for the thoughts. Like Pink Floyd said: "The memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of a man in his prime." Well, I had a couple of Lotus automobiles in my prime so just having a couple in the garage every time I walk out there still brings good memories. It may suck to see an empty spot there, even though the Elise still looks pretty good too, or it may sit there till I'm gone. Would be nice to see someone take it that wants to go for the 200,000 mile mark, though.

 

Oh my gosh. I wish you were closer. This looks like a mechanics dream.

 

Yeah, and it won't take much of a "mechanic"... just someone that is a good amateur and can follow the enclosed instructions. Since I just walked by a while ago and noticed it has not been driven or registered since July 2003, just started and ran for a while occasionally, then routine stuff should be done like fluids and stuff along with the tires that are visibly fine but dated. Pretty much everything is included to put it back on the road mechanically. That and a detailing and you have a car worth much more.

One that is built 120 cars after this one, that has been modified and wrapped, just sold for $77,777.00 on Bring-a-Trailer a few minutes ago.

 

I have a copy of the book "Passion for Speed" that is autographed by Nick Mason. It comes with a CD recording of the engines sounds from each of the cars in the book. A fun trinket.

I also have a copy of a CD recording of the show "Front Row Center" that is a very early recording. It is a copy that was sent to radio stations to play and they were supposed to send it back. This one didn't make it. It says on the CD that it is not to be released and must be returned.

To make this a Lotus related post... my eldest son, the proud owner of a 1990 Esprit SE, went to his first rock concert at the age of 11 years. Pink Floyd at the Oakland Coliseum. "Memories of a man in his old age!" (In fact the same son, now living in Chicago, told me the last time we spoke that he was surprised to hear the song "Free Four" on the local radio station there just last month.)

 

I saw them at Kennedy Center in '72 IIRC. A friend had 3-4 tickets in press box from his Dad the political cartoonist for Washington Post and nobody else showed for the other seats. Half of my PF Albums are half speed Japanese Master disk pressings.

 

The first time I saw Floyd was at their one and only appearance at the San Francisco Cow Palace. I have a bootleg CD of that show called Riding the Cow. April 1975. Seen them over a dozen times since.

 

This is the only place this car has been offered for sale, so far. In the near future I will be listing it in more sites.

 

Since you have an Elige how do they compare in driving, steering feel and shifting quality? I've never driven one, and see they weigh a little over 3,000 lbs, so I presume they drive more like the original Evora which I believe has around 350HP too and a bit slower verses a Evora GT with a little over 400HP.

They probably sound great with the V8. How is the turbo lag? I owned a 930 turbo for 13 years, I believe the lag has to be way less than one of those?

Any oil leaks? The only Lotus cars I've driven have been Eliges, and my dad's Europa in the early 80's. My memory tells me that Europa shifted better versus my Exige and was every bit as good in the corners, but that was over 40 years ago, so I could be remembering wrongly.

 

Having the Europa, Esprit 4-cylinder, Esprit V8 and the Elise and having put many miles on each over many years I can say they are each quite unique but each having a definitive Lotus feel and DNA.

The Europa has the most visceral and pure driving experience. The Twin Cam engine with the 5-speed manual was a pure driving car. The shift linkage was pretty primitive but you had to get used to it... it would not get used to you. Once you got used to the car it was a pure dream on twisty mountain roads. Not much of a long cruising GT car but a pure sports car that can be driven on the highway if you were so inclined. I was.

The 4-cylinder and V8 Esprit are both excellent driver cars. Surprisingly similar in performance over all on most roads. The 4-cylinder does have some turbo lag but not much. The V8 much less. Neither of them could match the performance of the Europa on very twisty and narrow mountain roads but could hold their own against most anything else. Both of the Esprit really get exciting when the RPM exceed anything above 3,000. Just shut up, pay very close attention and hold on. A real rocket ship ride. The V8 has many refinements in the engineering and inside the cabin with more room for the driver and passenger. The AP brake system on the V8 is phenomenal! After putting the upgraded Bilstein suspension on the 4-cylinder I actually preferred the general ride quality of it over the V8. Not by much but the re-engineered system by Lotus in collaboration with Bilstein worked wonders. I had to do a lot of fiddling with the shift linkage on the 4-cylinder but once I got it dialed in it is good. If it isn't just right it is pretty sucky. The V8 has a much better shift linkage. On a track matchup I would probably lean toward the V8.

The Elise is another animal all together. Probably closer to the Europa because of size and weight. A whole lot of improvement in technology from 1974 to 2005, for sure, but it is amazing how close they are, considering. The Elise, with the sport package, is a bit of a harsher ride than the Europa when driving on the public roads and a lot harsher than either of the Esprit.

For spirited driving on narrow twisty mountain roads I prefer the Europa or the Elise. For general use and cruising down the road or highway the Esprit seems more pleasurable. Asking which is better is akin to asking any parent to pick their favorite child in front of the children and the entire family. The reason I really like driving any Lotus is because Lotus seems to have the ability to tune the handling and suspension in a way I have never found in any other car I have driven. As the old Lotus Esprit ad I have hanging on the wall says - "It doesn't compete with other cars. I competes with sex."

Oil leaks? Elise - none. V8 and 1990 Esprit - not more than a few drops. Europa - from time to time but manageable with proper maintenance.

Cheers and enjoy the ride...

Dennis L. Fleming

 

For S&Gs I just did a Google search for the number of 2003 Esprit imported to the US. The AI Answer was;

"A total of 89 2003 Lotus Esprit V8 models were imported to the US. This number includes the "Final Edition" models, which were primarily designated for the US market, according to the Lotus Forums. The 2003 model year Esprit V8s were produced from serial number 0459 to 0580, spanning from October 2002 to October 2003."

That is interesting because mine is the serial number 0459. It would appear from this that this is the very first 2003 model imported!

Edit: I should stand to correct myself. In stead of saying it is the "first 2003 model imported" I should probably say, more accurately, "first 2003 model made for import". Subtle difference but I don't know when they actually shipped which ones or when the arrived.

 

Thank you very much for your thorough, well thought out response. I really enjoyed reading that. Sounds like I would enjoy it, but I’m hesitant for the same reason as for an Evora, Cayman GT4, or Emira. What I love most is the curvy road drive, evidently in lightweight cars.

I almost bought a yellow Europa on BAT in the past month. I’ve read, Gordon Murray said, he keeps an Elan around to remember how a proper car should drive. But, I don’t seem to see many Elans popping up for sale.

 

Have you tried posting this on Facebook Marketplace? For some odd reason, I never had any success selling cars on forums over the last 8 years, but have had great success selling it on FB marketplace where there are more exposure to the newer crowd. The car is beautiful, I've only seen one other FE example of this car and that was back in 2017 at my friend's barn out in rural mississippi during one of our rally drives. Purely a collector as he doesn't want to put a ton of miles on it.

 

The only place I have offered the car, so far, is here. I am honestly not too motivated to sell it because of the great car it has been and how great it is just to see it every time I go to the garage. However, reality does suck! I am getting older and due to health issues cannot put it back on the road myself like I used to. I have done all of the service and maintenance work myself in the past but not for the future. As I see it just sitting I don't really want it to just rot away where it is and was hoping someone would see the value of getting it back on the road. Some people have messaged about the miles and the car not having the value because of that. To that I say the car doesn't show its age and currently it can be put back on the road pretty economically and enjoyed for another 100,000 miles without having to worry about depreciation.

I firmly believe the car is worth the price and especially when you consider all the service stuff that comes with it. I was hoping someone that is a true Lotus enthusiast, as one would hope to find on this forum, would like to carry this car forward.

Before too long I will be checking with my oldest son in Chicago to see if he is interested in taking on the vehicle. He has a father-in-law in Pennsylvania who is into older British cars that may want to make a project out of it between the two of them. If he doesn't want to take it on then I will consider other means of disposal. Some people seem to think I should be willing to, in effect, give it away... but that ain't gonna happen. It will rot away where it is till I die first and then "I don't give a damn"... as Rhet Buttler would say.

 

To the top, for a good member of the Esprit community

 

Recently posted to the Esprit group on Facebook.

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