I've posted pics of my 996tt before on this site but not of my Esprit. It mildly modded and put down 430hp at the rear wheels. It has been featured in Modifed Luxury and Exotics in '06, a French book Lotus Esprit - le grand tourisme à l'anglaise in '07, 0-60 Magazine in '08 and in the infamous Youtube vids. Enjoy

 

I love your car and have seen it quite a bit on various sites. I have an 02 Red Esprit that I have loved but due to some car issues with family I need more of a daily driver that I can depend upon regardless of weather and is easier to get service. I wanted to know what your opinion is on the GT3 and do you think I will be happy with my decision?

 

Nice turbo, always been a fan of them!

 

Thanks guys. Flexcrac, sorry I mever got back to you. I see you went thru and bought the GT3. Now that you have the GT3, what's you opinion?

I think the GT3 is more like the Esprit than the Turbo. The Turbo is a great car and I love it doesn't compare to the rush I get with the Esprit.

 

I loved the Esprit as it was my dream car from the time I was 15 years old. However I always felt like I was damned if I drive it and damned if I don't. I was concerned about putting too many miles on it and was afraid to really drive it hard because of the tranny and the difficulty of maintenance. Just on a Saturday drive, I stopped by a Porsche dealership in my Lotus and asked to drive the Turbo. They first had me drive the GT3 and it was invigorating. You feel like you are actually one with the car and it touches all of your senses. I couldn't believe that it was a naturally aspirated car. It is extremely fast and drives like it is on rails. People complain that it is loud, hard clutch and a rough ride but it was better than the Lotus and it had cup holders, room for golf clubs, a trunk and glove compartments!

I drove the TT and didn't like anything about it. I didn't like the all-wheel drive (felt squirrelly to me but probably just not used to AWD) and I thought the clutch was soft. It just didn't have the same edge as the GT3. I agree that the Esprit is much more like the GT3 but after driving the GT3 I knew I would not be happy until I got one. The GT3 begs you to drive it hard and seems indistructible and I am going to start "tracking" now.

The Esprit definitely is more exotic and gets an extreme amount of attention and still has a special place in my heart but the GT3 is much more satisfying from a driving perspective...

 

Haha, I agree with everything you said. Luckly I don't have to worry too much about my trans since it's upgraded but it'll still never be what the Porsche trans is. Also finding a good mechanic for the Esprit is in my opinion the worst part about Esprit ownership. Thats why I started doing my own work.

Congrats BTW on the GT3!!! Porsches are great cars with much more peace of mind. I love my Turbo for everything Esprit isn't and vise versa.

 

I have wanted your car for many years, I had the Lotus Esprit book called The Official Story and had my dream come true when a friends dad let me drive his Lotus Esprit S4S in BRG....what a dream come true. I remember when I literally would spend all day thinking about how a 2.2 liter engine could do 264 hp! I have looked at and came close to buying a few Esprit V8's when times were better but the maintenance always scared me plus the rumors about the frailty of the transmission. That car will always have a special place in my heart.

 

Thanks Germ, unfortunately it doesn't take much to turn an Esprit into a basket case. Even the "experts" sometimes do more harm than good. But when they are in good hands, the later of either model can be very reliable.

 

Are you running the " Red " ECU and how much boost? 14 or 15 psi I would assume? I bet that car literally blows your socks out of your shoes and still leaves your shoes on!

 

nice lil collection you got there.

 

lol, thanks guys.

Germ, the car is running a Johan Red ECU with T28 turbos and manual boost controller with high boost set to 15psi. It moves pretty good.

 

How did I know that? Damn that was a good guess.....

Ok I admit I am an Esprit Fan Boy!


I can only imagine how much that car at just shy of 3000 lbs moves out, what an amazing and unique car!

 

love the esprit! I have always wanted one!

 

beautiful car....

 

agreed... very nice, I prefer it to the Elise