Lotus Esprit Reviews

There's always a great deal of interest any time one of the cars used in a 007 movie is offered for sale. And you can probably multiply that by 59 times for the collection of Bond vehicles owned by US real estate mogul Michael Dezer.Dezer is known for  development on a grand scale: nearly the entire suburb of Chelsea in NewYork, and several massive projects in Florida including partnerships with Donald Trump for the 900 million Trump Towers, $600 million Trump Grande Ocean Resort and Residences and the $166 million Trump International Hotel and Tower.And Florida is also where he garages his collection of 1800 vehicles, including the 59 genuine Bond ones he's selling, each of which has appeared in one of the movies.The catch is that Dezer insists they be bought as one lot, for US$33 million ($37 million). But the buyer will have a fairly comprehensive sample across the Bond series.Among the 59 are a Fairey Huntress boat used in 1963's From Russia With Love and an Audi A5 and Land Rover Defender used in the most recent film, Skyfall, for the kickstarter car chase scenes.From films in between, there are a brace of Aston Martin DB5 coupes, one of which helmed by Pierce Brosnan for Goldeneye -- and the Russian T55 tank from the film. The famed Lotus Esprit S1 that morphed into a submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me is also one of star vehicles, as are the armoured and armed BMW 750iL from Tomorrow Never Dies, and the Jaguar XKR from Die Another Day.There are also more everyday wheels, including the Citroen 2CV from For Your Eyes Only, and a replica of the AMC Hornet from The Man With The Golden Gun. The collection has been on display at the Dezer Musuem in Miami, and it's likely the buyer will do something similar once the deal is done.And while it will make a little space in the Dezer garage, there are still plenty of interesting cars staying there, including the 1948 Ford from Grease,  the 1981 DeLorean from Back to the Future, the Ghostbusters 1959 Cadillac, an original Batmobile, the Lamborghini Social Experiment Project AU 79, and many, many more.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

You now have a choice of hard top (coupe) or soft top (roadster) versions of Lotus' Exige S following the arrival of the low slung "drop top" this week.

A row of lolly-coloured cars is moving down an assembly line as though the colour sequence had been chosen for maximum effect.

In 2010, one of the James Bond Aston Martins from “Goldfinger” sold at auction for a jaw dropping 4.7 million dollars. Meanwhile, the Lotus Esprit submarine car driven by Sir Roger Moore in the Bond film “The Spy Who Loved Me” is scheduled to go under the hammer. It is the only working example of the six Lotus Esprits used in filming. The Esprit was shipped off to Long Island, New York when filming ended, where it was stored for 10-years in a container. After the lease on the storage unit ran out the contents were sold in a blind auction. When the couple who won the bid discovered what they had bought, they had the Lotus authenticated and now have it for sale. What's it worth? Who knows, but rest assured, someone will pay big money for it. The replica Ferrari stolen by Matthew Broderick in “Ferris Bueller's Day Off” will also go to auction soon. Expect serious money to be thrown around.  Remember the 1970s TV detective show “The Rockford Files” starring James Garner? The fictional private eye, Jim Rockford, always drove a gold Pontiac Firebird Esprit. And yep, you guessed right. There are collectors who seek out the 18 Firebirds used during the six years of the series. Garner kept one car when the series closed. In the mid-eighties he gave it to a charity auction .It was won by the proverbial little old lady. It's been through a few hands since then and now resides in Iowa. In “Back to the Future”, Michael J. Fox sped through time in a sleek DeLorean. In Dec 2011, one of the seven DeLoreans used in the trilogy fetched $540,000 at auction. The iconic Batmobile from the 1960s television show sold for $4.62 million at action earlier this year. Holy cow, Batman!! Famed car customiser George Barris built the Batmobile in 15 days with a budget of $15,000, basing it on the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car he'd bought from Ford for $1 a few years earlier. The black Falcon coupe from the Mad Max films almost went to the blast furnace. After the second Mad Max movie it was left in an Adelaide wrecker’s yard until rescued and restored. You can now see it in the Dezer Museum, Miami, Florida. And then there are the Pontiacs used in Burt Reynolds classic “Smokey and The Bandit”. They are out there somewhere. So start looking and start saving! www.retroautos.com.au  

Lotus has been led by managers at Malaysian conglomerate DRB-Hicom since early 2012 and since then we’ve heard little on the progress of the British sports car manufacturer.DRB-Hicom previously said it was committed to keeping Lotus as well as keeping production of Lotus cars in the UK, but stopped short of stating whether we’d see any new models in the near future.One hope had been a new Esprit supercar, the only model from the six-car lineup Lotus’ previous CEO Dany Bahar had envisioned. However, getting the Esprit into production will take hundreds of millions of dollars, money Lotus just doesn’t have and which DRB-Hicom, understandably, may be reluctant to provide.Speaking with Business Times, DRB-Hicom managing director Tan Sri Mohd Khamil Jamil said his company had spent the previous year settling Lotus’ financial issues and other commitments and that it has a new three-year plan. Unfortunately, that three-year plan won’t see any new models launched but rather updates of existing cars."We are coming out with the variants based on existing products--variants with improved technology, improved performance, improved quality as well as improved costing," he said, adding that those will be based on the Evora, Exige and Elise.The first of these has already been launched in the form of the 2013 Lotus Elise S Club Racer, a stripped-out version of the Elise designed for the track.www.motorauthority.com 

RM Auctions lifts the gavel on the only functional submarine car used in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, at its eagerly awaited central London sale, 8-9 September.The car was designed and fitted to propel underwater, and the car being sold is the  seen on screen driving underwater in the days before CGI would have instead rendered the stunt on a computer.The white Lotus commonly tops the polls when movie fans are asked to vote on their favourite film cars of all time. Like all the best Bond cars, the Lotus was a veritable war chest of weaponry and gadgetry, all designed to fox and foil the enemy, while helping Bond to another hard-won victory for Queen and country.Known as `Wet Nellie' on the set, it was developed from one of six Esprit body shells used in the making of the film. As the only car to be built into a fully operational, self-propelled `submarine', by Perry Oceanographic, based in Riviera Beach, Florida, it is the vehicle which claimed the most screen time in the film.The driver of the car was Don Griffin, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL and test pilot for Perry, who operated the vehicle utilising its motorised propellers while manoeuvring with levered steering mechanisms. At the time, the car was said to have cost over $100,000 to create (equivalent to nearly a half million dollars today).Subsequent to filming the underwater scenes in the Bahamas, the vehicle was shipped to Long Island, NY, where it was kept in an unassuming storage unit on a ten year rental, paid in advance. Fate later intervened when, in 1989, the then rent-delinquent unit was put up `blind' for public auction.A modest winning bid from an area couple brought surprise and wonder when the blankets were removed to reveal the iconic 007 `Submarine' Car. After positive authentication, the Lotus was shown occasionally --  including a stint at the famed Petersen Automotive Museum -- but was mostly kept closely under wraps until now.

Lotus have for decades infatuated race crowds, become the envy of enthusiasts and even won a Bond girl. Nothing has changed. Back from the lip of the black hole of extinction, Lotus now says it will return to its five-car plan and marks time by delivering a road-going racer that represents the core values of the company founded by Colin Chapman's innovative mind.The Exige S is a hybrid in the sense that it morphs the chassis of the four-cylinder Elise with the drivetrain of the V6-engined Evora. Effectively, it creates a very light, very powerful small car that is fast, fascinating and perhaps a little bit fragile.VALUEIt costs $119,900 plus on-road charges and that puts it in the searchlights of cars as similarly purpose-built as the Caterham and Morgan, as balanced as the Porsche Cayman S and as more street-savvy as the BMW M3 and 335i.The Exige S is closer to the Caterham in its rawness but adds more power, a hint more civility and a roof. Standard equipment is minimalistic - as you'd expect - and really only admits it's now 2013 with the airconditioner, iPod/USB friendly audio, electric windows and the three-mode engine management mode.DESIGNLotus currently doesn't have a lot of money. That's why there's some hint of the Evora from the front. Basically it's a hardtop - though it's unboltable - Exige and only the test car's beautiful $3250 premium pearl white paint makes it stand out more than its sisters.The seats are now made for humans rather than the tipped-up fibreglass bathtubs of the Elise. The fact it sits on an Elise chassis - true, with 70mm added to the wheelbase - means no change to the intimacy of the cabin. Nor to the body-folding techniques owners and their loved ones will practice to become part of the cabin.There is a pair of simple gauges, a scattering of warning lights and LED fuel gauge - all impossible to read in sunlight - and a couple of switches. Bare aluminium floors, wrap-round alcantara seats, and a tint Momo steering wheel complete the look.TECHNOLOGYThe engine comes from Toyota and continues the relationship with the company sealed when Lotus moved to replace the Elise's Rover 1.8 with a 1.6 from Japan. Now it's an Aurion/Lexus 350 V6 that has been tweaked and modified by Lotus to pump through an Australian Harrop supercharger for 257kW/400Nm and a 7000-plus redline. There's a six-speed manual - an optional auto is coming - and Lotus-bred suspension, big disc brakes and 18-inch rear wheels. The engine has three selectable modes - Touring, Sport and Race - to alter engine characteristics and launch control is a standard fitment.SAFETYJust the basics here with electronic chassis and brake aids and no crash rating. There's no spare wheel - just an aerosol can - and even rear park sensors are a $950 option.DRIVINGIt's not as mind-numbingly noisy and bone-trembling shuddering as the Elise, so that was a pleasant surprise. Find a smooth road and a compliant gear and it will cruise quietly and comfortably at 100km/h with only about 2400rpm on the tacho dial.The seats help ride comfort a bit, now padded and unlike the glass tubs of the Elise. Other than a sense of dread at passing SUVs and the feat they will never see me and my 1.1m-high white plastic shell, it coped well with traffic.But not as well as the open road. Long country roads with frequent repair patches of bitumen will bounce the car around and with it, the occupants. Not pleasant. But the long sweeps of Wanneroo Raceway treat it as royalty.The Exige S will flow perfectly through the corners, the direct and unassisted steering picking up every stone and peeled tyre rubber fragment and relaying it accurately to the driver's fingers. Learn how it moves through the arcs and you can apply some more power.And this is where the car erupts. It's more about the push of the torque that urges from just above idle through to a big hit at 3500rpm then on a plateau through to 7000rpm. It's such a strong, effortless flow and the noise from the exhaust - oddly, the supercharger whine is modest - so addictive that you can quickly drain the small 43-litre fuel tank.Sport mode is good for the track but “race” is the best, sharpening the engine further, turning off the ESC and making it feel like a deranged go-kart. You arrive back at the pits tired and smiling and wanting more, the essential emotions of a true sports car.VERDICTSadly, this is at least the second car in the driveway. For any Sunday or any track day or any excuse to leave the house and clear the mind.Lotus Exige SPrice: from $119,900Warranty: 3 years/100,000kmCapped servicing: NoService interval: 12mths/15,000kmResale: 67%Safety: 2 airbags, ABS, ESC, EBD, TCCrash rating: noneEngine: 3.5-litre V6 supercharged-petrol, 257kW/400NmTransmission: 6-spd manual; rear driveThirst: 10.1L/100km; 95RON; 236g/km CO2Dimensions: 4.1m (L), 1.8m (W), 1.1m (H)Weight: 1176kgSpare: none

If you are really serious about your driving, about pure unadulterated 'drive feel', you'd be hard pressed to look past the new Lotus Exige S V6 Coupe.It's a raw experience right down to manual (non power-assisted) steering, nearly rock hard seats, cabin access with a high degree of difficulty and a rigid, racetrack-bred aluminium tub chassis.You can feel every dynamic event affecting the car through the wheel, the brakes and the seat of your pants. You can hear the whirring, bellowing engine just behind your head.This is all well and good but what you really need to appreciate is all of this Porsche beating performance is available at less than half the price of the German thoroughbred.The test car (ours had expensive option packs) is pitched from a starting price of a snip under $120 grand - about half what you'll pay for a Porsche 911 which wouldn't see which way the Lotus went.Take that back to the Porsche Cayman at around $150 grand and it's the same story. But the two Porsches are much more civilised everyday cars with nice seats, easy steering, premium audio, luxury goodies and relatively mild manners when you compare them to the Lotus.This is the latest Exige two seater and comes this time with supercharged 3.5-litre,V6 power courtesy of the Lotus Evora and before that, Toyota.Yes, it has a Toyota Avalon heart beating amidships - but the engine is substantially modified from it's whitegoods beginnings.The supercharger is a Harrop 1320 unit mounted neatly to the right top of the compact V6 which resides, on display, under a glass fastback cover.It drives the rear wheels through a six-speed close ratio manual transmission after transiting a lightweight flywheel and button clutch arrangement.Power output is a hearty 257kW at 7000rpm with 400Nm of torque available at 4500rpm. It's enough to propel the 1176kg Exige V6 from 0-100kmh in 3.8 seconds, a figure we actually achieved with the help of the launch control system. Gets 10.1-litres/100km too.The aero package includes a flat undertray, front splitter, rear wing and rear diffuser and ride height is extremely low. The Exige S V6 looks impressive on the road with elements from both the Lotus Elise at the front and the bigger Evora at the rear.It's longer and wider than the earlier four cylinder Exige and looks the better for it. Inside is functional and tight but there's aircon, cruise, a power outlet, OK audio and two drink holders.The instrument pod looks like it came off a motorcycle but who cares, this car is all about the drive.This car is an ANIMAL. We didn't even have it in Race mode and it's frighteningly quick, totally engaging.Not only in a straight line either because it corners like a big racing kart limited a tad by a lack of weight over the front wheels.Go through the Exige's spec' sheet and it's all the real deal in terms of performance component suppliers. AP four piston brakes, Bilstein dampers, Eibach springs, Bosch tuneable ECU, Pirelli Trofeo tyres in 17-inch front and 18-inch rears. The aluminium suspension is double wishbone both ends and the car can be dialled in within certain parameters. It all looks to be hewn from solid billet aluminium covered in swoopy fibreglass/plastic bodywork.We marvelled at how much get-up the Exige has -  instantly available under the right foot. It punches hard right out of the blocks through to the 7000rpm redline and then the same again and again through each gear. Wow, makes your head spin.Then, backing up the go department is an impressive dynamic package that is deceptively comfortable despite being set up hard. The dampers must have some sort of tricky blow-off system for sharp bumps because the car floats over normally jolting bumps.No other road car comes close to this level of connection with the driver though we have yet to drive something like a Caterham Seven which we suspect would be kinda similar.Lotus facilitates this back-to-basics race car drive experience with a tiny steering wheel, mechanical feeling  gear mechanism, minimal noise deadening and four-mode dynamic control including stability control `off' and launch control.

For those lucky types seeking an alternative to a Porsche or something similar, there's now a tantalising Lotus drop-top to throw into the mix. It's the fastest-ever convertible Lotus that's due to lob here in time for summer. PERFORMANCE Called the Lotus Exige S Roadster, it combines open top driving with supercar performance and the ability to clock a 0-100 kmh sprint in four seconds, a tad more with the roof off. Sitting alongside the Exige S and its race track variants, the Exige Cup and Exige Cup R, the Exige S Roadster completes the Exige line-up and enhances the track focussed collection by providing a new facet to the range. Powered by the same supercharged 3.5-litre, V6 (toyota sourced engine) as the coupe variants and weighing in at 10kg less than the Exige S at 1166kg, none of the exhilarating performance of the exciting Exige range is compromised. The driver is only “two clicks and a roll” away from cruising in open-top style thanks to the lightweight, factory-fitted soft top. BARGAIN Launched in Australia earlier this year, the Lotus Exige S hardtop is priced at a Porsche beating price of $119,990 and provides a level of performance and handling that can only be described as a bargain at this price. Achieving 0-100 kmh from a standing start in 4.0 seconds, delivering 257.5kW at 7000 , the Exige S Roadster matches the coupe's mechanical spec' but style takes an understated approach having shed its rear wing and front splitter to maximise airflow over its sleek silhouette. The Exige S Roadster is the perfect car for a “joy” ride. Exige S Roadster is now available to order and full specifications and pricing will be announced when the new model arrives in the first quarter of 2014. The Exige S Roadster  Max Power: 257.5 kW at 7000 rpm Max Torque: 400Nm 4500 rpm 0 -100 km/h: 4.0 seconds Weight: 1166 kg Engine: Mid-mounted, transverse 3.5-litre, DOHC, V6 VVTi, 24-valve equipped with Harrop HTV 1320 Supercharger. Transmission: 6-speed manual with sports ratios. Suspension: Fully independent double wishbone suspension with front and rear anti-roll bar. Bilstein high performance gas dampers and Eibach coaxial springs. Brakes: AP-Racing four-piston calipers with ventilated and cross drilled cast-iron discs. Wheels and tyres: Lightweight cast alloy wheels (17 -inch front and 18-inch rear) clad with Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tyres.

When you think Lotus you're also supposed to think about adding lightness. It's the philosophy of Lotus founder Colin Chapman, and it was the ethos with which Lotus cars were designed, developed, and produced. One area Lotus doesn't want to be light in, is of course its own wallet. Thanks to a little bit of walking around money, the British sports car manufacturer and engineering firm might be able to breathe a little easier. According to a report from Autocar, Lotus is nearly ready to receive a cash injection of £10 million (about $15 million). This comes from a government program called the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), which is designed to help companies create new jobs and provide training. Giving Lotus a bit of this money shows that the automaker is prepping to move forward with new models and production. Apparently Lotus initially applied to receive funds via the RGF over two years ago. At that time the automaker was under the guidance of Dany Bahar, and we all know how that saga shook out. Now, under the leadership of a new management team, Lotus is ready to get its hands on the cash. Still, the actual amount of £10 million is under a bit of speculation. It was based on the initial application paperwork filed by Bahar. There could be new paperwork, or Lotus could've finally finished the process to receive its initial request. www.motorauthority.com