Lotus Esprit - The Official Story - hardback - £20 - Jeremy Walton

LOTUS ESPRIT: THE OFFICIAL STORY is the inside story of Britain’s best loved supercar from it’s development in the early 1970’s right through to the 21st century.

This large format 224-page hard back book contains over 550 photographs taken from the archives of Lotus Cars and is a must for any Esprit enthusiast.

That the Esprit ever appeared in the showroom, never mind set a record for British sportscar continuous production from 1976-2004, is a story straight from the Lotus era. How Colin Chapman laboured alongside Italian designer and fellow genius Giorgetto ‘Giorgio’ Giugiaro, to bring the first show Esprit to life, is just one of the stories unveiled by Jeremy Walton’s research.

The Esprit, in all its Lotus Type numbers, and derivatives, from the very first Type 79 (the Esprit Type number - not to be confused with the Lotus Formula One cars which carries the same Type Number!) onwards, is revealed in this seriously comprehensive book.

A total of under 11,000 Esprits were made in it’ 28 year production span, which means that some models had production numbers of less than 100. Supremely agile and rapid Esprits, such as the Sport 300 and V8 350, are examined in all their 160 to 175 mph glories - along with the race track inspired Esprit Turbo SCCA, X180R and Type 114 Esprit GT1. 

As with Walton’s acclaimed Lotus Elise title, this conscientious Esprit production was enabled only by the full co-operation of Lotus Cars, and once again they gave frank access to their archives as well as their employees. LOTUS ESPRIT: THE OFFICIAL STORY contains the reminiscences of the loyalists, and the youngsters, who added to their growing reputations when involved in the concept and design of the Esprit, many who are now famous industry figures following a Lotus apprenticeship. The author’s trusted participation at every stage in the Esprit’s long life, is reflected by the openness of all involved. They tell us the real stories behind the car, leaving us with hope of an innovative new Esprit before too long.

Octane magazine review:

"Given the significance of the Esprit to the survival of Lotus - it was built in various evolutions over a staggering 28 years - it's surprising that no one has previously attempted a tribute on this scale before. Appropriately, the first thing you notice is the slightly 'retro' 1970's design of the book with it's graphics. The author has tracked down many of the Esprit development team's key players; Mike Kimberley, Tony Rudd and Brian Angus. Together with sketches from the design team to compliment the many photographs and work in progress shots. This book is a welcome addition to the Lotus canon and will perhaps accelerate the growth of the Esprit as a true classic".

Call Lotusbits on 01926 633211 and order a copy - a "must" for Esprit enthusiasts!

Door hinge pin repair and refurbishment kit - we've made the Lotus item better!

Bushed brackets (welded) £15 each (click image to view larger item)

DIY pin kit, comprising pin, collets and phosphor bronze bushes £40, (excluding brackets),  (click image to view larger item)

Lotusbits Lotus Micra, under the bonnet

For more information, Lotus Micra specification and build details see here

Little 280 bhp Lotus Micra overtakes Impreza!

280 bhp Lotus Micra - GEG Promenade Stages Rally, New Brighton

280 bhp Lotus Micra hits barrel - GEG Promenade Stages Rally - 11th Sept...

280 bhp Lotus Micra and BAT Motorsport Corsa

Lotus 2.2 gas flowed and ported cylinder head

Large valve, gas flowed, ported, radius valve seats including matched inlet manifold - £1,400 + VAT (exchange)
(Click to view larger image)

Prices correct at time of posting E.&O.E.

Lotus Excel large bore stainless steel performance exhaust system and manifold

Lotus Excel large bore stainless steel exhaust manifold and system - exclusive to Lotusbits. £1200 + VAT
Large bore Lotus Excel stainless steel exhaust manifold - 2 1/2" - £650 + V.A.T.

and Lotus Excel large bore stainless steel exhaust system

New front corner for the Lotus Micra!

Water filled barrel #1 Micra #0 Watch the impact and the effect it has under braking onboard here

New corner following "a slight brush" with a water filled barrel!

Lotus Stickers - Valvoline oil recommended label, coolant check, spare wheel labels, E approval stickers

Inner wing Valvoline lubricants recommended label - £15.00

Coolant check and fill label - £5.00 (each)

 Emergency spare wheel label - £8.00

E-approval sticker - £8.00

Lotus Bits Rally: Promenade Stages

Jumping into the van on Friday afternoon I didn’t really know what to expect. Everyone (especially Mike) was running around like a headless chicken making sure we had everything. Finally, a few hours behind schedule we get going on our way up North. 

   Three of us in the van, within 5 minutes I realise why Ben has the nickname: ‘Bog brush - oh my God does he ever shut up’. Been in the van a couple of hours, we get stuck in traffic on the M6. So to pass the time we start singing at the tops of our voices.

   Scrutineering:
 We arrive about 8pm, as the car is being checked over by the officials I get a taster of what the rally will be like the following morning. Subarus, Mitsubishi Evos, Escort Cosworths... plenty of cars there to get excited about. Mike drives the car back round to the van, we’ve got the thumbs up so we head off to the hotel.
After arriving at the hotel and being separated into our rooms we all made ourselves presentable and headed straight for some food. Having finished eating, the lot of us hit the bar. I’d already drunk too much when Dave & Mike decided to tell me what time I had to be up in the morning: 5am.

And then the morning came, far too fast at that. Nevertheless I was up eating breakfast (feeling like a zombie). We left for the rally in the darkness, arriving just as the sun decided to show his face.


   Setting up all the gear for the rally was not quite what I would call fun, in the bitter cold wind and the pouring rain. 10 minutes before the rally began all the cars began making their way to the start line, I was about to see the start of 1 of the biggest rallies of the year.

   As the Darrian roared off the line and into the distance I was already grinning from ear to ear. Car after car of these highly tuned machines revved up and shot off like rockets. As Mike and Cathy pulled up to the line I could hear many people laughing: ‘A Micra?! No chance...’ But having been in the car for the shakedown myself 2 days previously I knew exactly what to expect. Mike dropped into gear and flew, the people laughing shut up almost straight away. My grin continued to grow. Seeing all these wicked cars made me almost lose track of time, when Sam grabbed me saying we need to head back to the service area. 


   Mike pulled in under the gazebo. The lot of us do a once over of the car to ensure everything is working well. Being the apprentice I was happy with contributing by checking the tyre pressures and refuelling the beast. The break was over, Mike hit the track again eager to gain a better place than where we already were: 9th.

   Conveniently our van and the Land Rover were parked alongside the track, so as soon as Mike left I jumped up on top of the Landy to watch the action. Because the car was set up for wet conditions, as the weather started to ease up it was inevitable that we were going to lose a place or two. When the second stage had finished we were down to 11th. Stage after stage, there were no problems with the car whatsoever. By the end of stage 6, the road was nearly completely dry and we were down to 15th. 


   Feasting on all the goodies I could find, I sat on top of the Land Rover watching the cars whiz round the stage. On stage 7, the heavens opened again. Just as well we had decided to stick with full wets instead of changing to slicks! On the same stage Mike overtook the ‘Batmobile’ Corsa and started getting particularly friendly with an Impreza. As Mike overtook the boy racer favourite, the driver started to see red mist and tried a little too hard to keep up with our Micra. The driver ended up overshooting a hairpin and stalled his car, making the lot of us cheer.

   The final stage came, tension had really built as we were hoping for a top 10 finish. We were in 11th and 4 seconds behind 10th. Mike was really giving it the beans and managed to get in front of the same Impreza he did on stage 7. The driver really wasn’t happy. Our leader was going flat out hot on the tail of the Bat Corsa again. Coming into a chicane behind the mad Corsa, the Lotus Micra was moving a little too quickly and ended up smashing into a barrel full of water. This resulted in a snapped anti-roll bar, seriously ruined tracking and a 20 second time loss. But being the last stage Mike didn’t stop, he carried on giving it his all and raced round the track overtaking a Honda Civic Type R on the way. Mike came back round into the service area, and luckily both he and Cathy hadn’t been hurt.

We packed up all the kit, put the Micra on the trailer (looking good with a front nearside panel missing) and headed for the award ceremony. It turned out, even though the car was beaten up we still won the trophy for best mixed crew, best Wallasey crew, best Wallasey driver and ended up 13th in the standings overall. Having had a few pints, we headed back to the hotel for some grub.

Getting together at the bar, you could tell that we had had a hard day because there was next to no conversation whatsoever. Had a few more bevvies and headed for the restaurant. We moved back to the bar after eating and 1am we were dropping off to bed. Few more drinks and I hit the sack, I was knackered. I’d had a wicked day.

   Waking up to being screamed at by bog brush Ben isn’t the best thing in the world. Got all my stuff together and hit the road. As the 3 of us made our way back down the motorway we had a nice surprise: a blowout! Replaced the ruined wheel with the spare and headed on our way again.

   5 minutes from home, just outside Coventry as we pull away from some traffic lights (well, try to) the clutch goes altogether. So we roll down the hill at 10 mph and pull into the service station. Sam makes the phone call to Dave, and he comes to the rescue in the Land Rover. When he finally arrives after what feels like forever we get towed back to the yard. (Bens fault again).


   On the whole, the weekend was an experience that I’d love to have again. The whole team said to me that if I liked cars, I liked noise, I liked speed, and I liked alcohol then the weekend was almost certainly for me. They couldn’t have been more right.

Report by Ali.

Lotus Excel, Elite, Eclat, Esprit S3 brake master cylinder

New, recent addition Lotus Excel, Lotus Elite, Lotus Eclat, Lotus Esprit S3 brake master cylinder £120

Probably the best Excel * * * SOLD * * *

Full details on Lotusbits website here - full restoration, truly exceptional, magazine featured - * * * SOLD * * * : 

Also Lotus Elite 504 Automatic, 1980 - excellent DIY project, little work required for MOT - respray and replacement engine 3 years ago - £1500

Lotus Excel adjustable rear top link

Adjustable rear top link from Lotusbits, developed on our Lotus Micra stage rally car, this is now available for your Lotus road car or Lotus competition car - £100 each.

Application:
Lotus Excel rear top link, Esprit S3, X180, S4S V8 and GT3 rear top and bottom links, Elite, Eclat rear lower links

Adjuster kit ONLY -  £50.00 each.

New Vapourblasting service from Lotusbits

Items such as cylinder heads can now be vapourblasted:

Vapourblasting or Aquablasting is a method of blasting using a very fine media and mixing it with water. This is the the ultimate surface impact treatment. Vapourblasting leaves a super smooth easy wipe stain resistant finish on the work processed.

Our new engineering workshop

This will certainly help with rebuilds:

Latest batch of long stroke 2.5 litre cranks!

Lotusbits custom 2.5 litre steel crank, new batch in stock!
250 bhp (road use) or 270+ bhp (competition use).

One of our new units, filling up fast!

Lots of Lotus bits!

Pacific Blue Lotus Excel *SOLD*

D reg Lotus Excel, Pacific Blue 86,300 miles, some history - now SOLD, contact Lotusbits for details of used Lotus cars

Automatic Excel, soon for sale!

Calypso red, recently painted, Red Lotus Excel SA "E reg." 71,531 miles, offers invited.