It takes a special voice to sing a Bond theme and a special actor to play the part of 007. It also takes a car with unexpected quirks to save the screen’s most resilient secret agent from an intriguing array of fates.
During the decades since Doctor No appeared in 1962, there have been 25 official James Bond films, six Bonds and 21 performers of Bond theme vocals. Only Shirley Bassey (Moonraker and Diamonds Are Forever) has performed more than one.
If you’re a Bond car, the chances of your brand being invited back for recurring performances is pretty good though. Especially if its name happens to be Aston Martin.
Jaguar could have supplied the first significant Bond car, but all its spare E-Types were committed elsewhere so the Bond people approached Aston Martin in 1963 for a DB5. Poor career move, Jaguar.
Leaving aside brief appearances in Doctor No by a Sunbeam Alpine (the V8 Tiger as used in Get Smart was yet to be invented) the only other Brit brand to snag major roles in Bond productions was Lotus, on both occasions with its exotic looking Esprit.
Lotus, until his untimely death in 1982, had been the fiefdom of Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman. The company logo was
created around Chapman’s entwined initials and its earliest products were kit cars devised by Chapman for assembly in buyers’ garden sheds.
By the mid 1960s, Chapman’s kit car company had become a Formula One powerhouse, enveloped by technical wizardry. The brand had recorded its first Grand Prix win in 1960 and took its first World Formula One Championship in 1963.
It would win four more F1 titles, with the last coming in 1978, and afterwards provide consultancy services to major brands including Toyota and Chevrolet. It was also pivotal in development of the controversial DeLorean V6.
In 1974 Lotus had revealed its own wedge-shaped sports coupe, the Elite, followed by the mid-engined and (eventually) turbocharged Esprit.
The Esprit’s wide-hipped shape was similar in some respects to the Elite but had been crafted as a one-off show car by Giorgio Giugiaro of Italdesign, before being remodelled for production.
Colin Chapman had for many years supported in-house design and the company’s early wedge-shaped products had been penned by company stylist Oliver Winterbottom.
While Winterbottom remained in charge of the Esprit project, responsibility for the shape and management were handed over to Italdesign.
The 900 Series engine was devised during the 1960s by Lotus as an alternative to the Twin Cam BDA Ford motors being used at the time in Lotus products.
The engine was a slant four, able to be cast in iron or aluminium and similar to a design displayed by Vauxhall in 1967.
By 1970, Lotus had its engine ready for production but no car that was immediately suited to the design. Shortly afterwards though, the Lotus motor found a home with Jensen and its new Healey sports car.
The 900 Series was subsequently built in various forms, culminating in a turbocharged version that would be fitted from 1980 to the Esprit. In Turbo form, the 2.2-litre delivered a top speed of 217km/h plus improved torque to counter criticism of earlier cars’ poor mid-range response.
A further update was released in 1981 for the Esprit Turbo Series 2, followed in 1986 by a fuel-injected HC (high compression) version with 160kW. These cars from 1981 made the switch to a galvanised steel chassis and had prominent Turbo decals on both sides to let other traffic know this was a Lotus with which not to mess.
The Esprit during 1987 was restyled in-house by designer Peter Stevens, with these becoming known as ‘Stevens Cars’. The shape was more aero-friendly, with smaller bumpers and an altered air-dam. Later SE versions had larger wheels and a rear spoiler that would become more prominent, in line with improving performance.
Rigidity post-1987 improved by 22 per cent and to cope with the engine’s increased torque, a new Renault-sourced transaxle was adopted. It needed a new bell housing, designed by Lotus and a redesigned gear linkage. The rear brakes were now mounted outboard, not alongside the differential.
By 1991 up to 208kW was being extracted from intercooled versions of the 2.2-litre engine, but Lotus saw its only reliable route to significantly more power, was via a bigger engine.
The Esprit V8 introduced for 1996 used an engine of Lotus’ own design, but with a capacity almost identical to Rover’s 3.5-litre alloy V8. Differences included double overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder for the Lotus motor which, according to legend, could produce 370kW.
Lotus didn’t have a transaxle capable of handling such thrust though, and production engines were dialled back to a more manageable 260kW.
Eventually the limitations of a rudimentary chassis and cramped cabin would be reached and Lotus made the decision to discontinue Esprit production. From introduction in 1976 to withdrawal in 2002, more than 10,500 of the car known to some as The Flying Doorstop had been made.
I own it, for now…
Scott is the current owner of our featured 1988 Esprit Turbo, and knows he probably isn’t near the head of the line to become Daniel Craig’s long-awaited successor.
However, the links his car has to the 007 franchise ensures lots of admiration when on display or just parked in the street. No appearances as yet by Roger Moore impersonators though.
Little is known about the UK-delivered Esprit, except that it came to Australia some 20 years ago and at some point was sold by Melbourne-based Lorbek Luxury Cars.
From there the car disappeared until offered again through Lloyds auction house on the Gold Coast. It was then bought by a specialist dealer with a particular affinity for Lotus models.
“I think he used to buy cars he liked, not always what he could immediately resell,” Scott commented.
“This one had been there a while when I bought it in 2018. Initially I didn’t use it much because with the big windscreen an Esprit needs functioning air-conditioning and it wasn’t working.
“I took it to an air-conditioning specialist in Brisbane who had probably never seen one before but they did a good job. Having the system fully overhauled with correct refrigerant installed cost $1800 and it will now form icicles on the outlets when running at maximum.
“I don’t use the air-con except on very hot days because the sunroof and power windows together create good airflow to the cabin.”
The other important item of Esprit equipment that didn’t work as it should was the turbocharger. Performance seemed okay to Scott and the wastegate was audibly operational, so he assumed the car had no issues until a workshop that specialised in turbo-engined cars identified the problem.
“They discovered that the turbo actuator wasn’t working at all,” Scott revealed, “After fitting a new after-market unit set at a conservative 0.8 bar of boost, the difference was amazing.”
The interior was refurbished just prior to Scott acquiring the car and despite the low seating position he says it is comfortable with good visibility in most directions.
“The console is a bit daunting to start with,” Scott said, “But doesn’t get in the way and the gearshift is at a comfortable height. The only thing for very tall people could be a struggle to get enough legroom.”
Variable ratio steering is light at lower speeds and then adds feel as speed increases.
Farthest the car has been while in Scott’s keeping is to club events around Brisbane and the Gold Coast, especially Cars and Coffee displays where some observers mistake it for a Lamborghini but mostly pick up on the links to James Bond.
“Yes, with the Italian styling influence and mid-engine plus Lotus’ competition pedigree it is a genuine supercar,” Scott says.
“However, it’s such an easy car to drive, it takes so little effort it really is an enjoyable car in the suburbs, you don’t really think about the performance.”
Scott is looking for a new home for his ‘88 Lotus Esprit Turbo. SCAN the QR code to see it listed for sale on: tradeuniquecars.com.au