Lotus Esprit

First launched in 1976, the Lotus Esprit was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro and based on a Lotus Europa chassis. The following year, the car made its debut in the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, where, after a car chase, it metamorphosed into a submarine. In this comprehensive book, the authors use their first-hand knowledge from twenty years of ownership to cover essential information such as how to buy, own and keep a Lotus Esprit as well as unpublished research and history of the various models, including the original 'Essex' turbo models. They describe the development of the new designs for the Esprit in 1987 by Peter Stevens and in 1993 by Peter Thomson. They also explore the story of the Bond film cars, both terrestrial and aquatic, and where they are now. The book explains how to maintain an Esprit on a budget and also lists the suppliers, businesses and clubs that can help keep an Esprit on the road while also adding a social dimension to ownership. Packed with original illustrations, this book is a must-have guide to one of the Lotus company's most famous models.

About the Author:

Matt has been a Headteacher for 17 years. He has been a follower of Lotus Cars since he was 9 years old and has been lucky enough to own, drive and restore to the road most of the models Lotus have produced since the 1970's. He has been lucky to own an Aston Martin and many Lotus' over the years and has thoroughly enjoyed all of them, and still do. At the age of 10 after Mike picked up his brother Matt's car magazines and saw the first images of the all new Lotus Esprit he was completely in awe, this was the start of a passion which has grown over the years. He has owned in excess of ten different Esprit covering most of the various models types. This includes a pre-production prototype and the 1978 Motor Show Car. He became the youngest person to join the North East Lotus Owners Club in 1988 at the tender age of 21when he had bought his first Esprit S2.