Certificate of Provenance for 1988 Lotus Esprit & 2006 Exige
Contacted Andy Graham from the Lotus Archives and he couldn't have been any nicer. He generate a Certificate of Provenance for both my 2006 Lotus Exige and 1988 Lotus Esprit Commemorative Edition. Interesting information for any Lotus owner to get. It's a great service. Highly recommend it. I know many others have contacted Andy. Should anybody need his email address, just holler. I will include the extended write up below. But he found something interesting. Many of you know, in 1988, Lotus (in theory) made 88 Pearlescent White Esprit Turbos to commemorate and celebrate 40 years of Achievement at Lotus. It turns out that he can't find 88 cars. He only counts 87. (My car was the 43rd, though the window sticker that he also found says 36 of 88.) I go with his information. As you see below, it's pretty detailed. Andy does his homework. Anyway, for us Lotus wonks, thought you'd find it interesting.
Dear Mr. Spielman,
Thank you for your enquiry regarding your Lotus Esprit Commemorative Edition and please find enclosed your Certificate of Provenance, which provides details from the original build records when the car left the factory, it does not cover modifications/changes made since leaving Lotus.
The VIN supplied for your Lotus Esprit was SCCFC20A8JHF62304 which can be broken down into the manufacturer identifier code (SCC=UK manufacturer, Lotus Cars Ltd.), the model type
{F=Esprit Turbo), the series (C=series 3), the ventilation option (2=heater and air conditioning), the engine type (0=type 910, 2.2 turbocharged), the restraint system (A=active belts), the check
digit (8), the mode! year (J=1988), the assembly plant (H=Hethel), the market the chassis is made for (F=USA 50 states), the market the engine was made for (6=USA 50 states, Canada & Japan) and the serial number (2304). The original engine number was LP910 8804 24874 which can be broken down into the market the engine is destined for (L=USA 50 states, Canada & Japan), the engine equipment (P=high compression with A/C), the engine type
{910=Lotus 2.2 litre turbocharged), the engine build date (8804=1988, April), and the engine serial number (24874). The transaxle number was C5234.
The original body colour was pearlescent white, Lotus paint code P02. The interior was trimmed in limited edition light and dark blue leather with grey pigskin inserts and indigo blue carpets. As the car was a limited edition, the car came comprehensively equipped including the following: strut mounted rear spoiler, removable glass panel roof, unique trim, pearlescent white all over (including body coloured sills and wheels), Sony I.C.E., illumination instruments
changed from green to orange to match the I.C.E. system, polished wood (elm) instrument binnacle surrounds and Stirling silver fascia plaque. The car was signed from production on the 12 May 1988. The car was imported into the USA by Lotus Cars USA Inc. who would retain any further history. They have informed me that the selling dealer was Jim Marino Imports Inc. in Alhambra, CA who sold it to a customer in Los Angeles, CA on the 24th October 1988.
The 1988 model year was the first for the new Peter Stevens designed body. The
Commemorative model was to mark Forty Years of Achievement at Lotus 1948-1988 and the only colour available was pearlescent white, there was meant to be 88, but I have only found records for 87 of them. The 1988 model year ran from serial number 2000 (October 1987) to 2479 (September 1988) with the serial number sequence being shared with the USA, Canada and Japan markets, so for clarification the following is based on serial number sequence and data available to date for the US 1988 model year cars only;
Your car is the 262nd out of 395 cars (including 87 Commemorative models).
Your car is the 44th out of 88 cars in Pearl White (first engineering car was also in pearl white). Your car is the 43th out of 87 Commemorative cars recorded. This differs from the edition number displayed on the window sticker which shows your car was number 36 of 88 cars as these are allocated independently from production and do not follow serial number sequence.
I hope you find this Information of interest and you enjoy your Esprit ownership. Regards
Andy Graham Lotus Archives
