This 1986 Lotus Esprit Turbo looks conspicuously like a Copart lot find, as this picture goes to show us. The dirt lot, the sticker in the windshield, the yellow marker scribbles – this is surely a Copart car, right? Well, it seems likely but other pictures show this flagship British exotic parked in a private driveway. Whatever the story is, the Esprit looks to be in very good condition, with the original Turbo script sill visible on the sides and a surprisingly nice interior. The wheels aren’t original, but they’re a great period-correct choice. Find it here on eBay with a Buy-It-Now of $35,000.
The other detail worth discussing is the low mileage claim of the Lotus having just 18,984 original miles. If the pictures weren’t so lousy, it’d be easier to call it the potential home run that it is, but it does look to be completely stock aside from the wheels. The side skirts, rear spoiler, front air dam, and other goodies that come with the Turbo model are all in good shape, and the rear window louvers are not to everyone’s taste but also absolutely perfect on a car like this. The wheels may not be to everyone’s taste, but they appear to be a staggered fitment and work quite well on the Esprit – but it’d be nice to have the original set included in the sale.
The interior is in really nice shape in the listing photos, and Lotus interiors are quite unforgiving if left neglected. The original shift knob and steering wheel are still present, two good signs the car hasn’t been messed with too much since new. Plus, the acres of leather that cover the dash, center console, and bucket seats will look like absolute trash if the car in question has been left outdoors for years, has high miles and not maintained, or both. Low miles doesn’t guarantee that these cabins will stay in good shape, as any amount of time of prolonged sun exposure will render it blown apart in no time.
But then, plot twist: the engine bay doesn’t exactly look like that of a low-mileage car. Again, it’s hard to judge accurately based on these pictures, so I’m willing to be open-minded and say this is just the case of some engine paint flaking off, but the overall appearance looks fairly tired as well. The seller has spent some money on it, adding a new clutch master, slave cylinder, and performing a fluid flush, along with replacing both fuel pumps and brake hoses. The Lotus looks like a largely un-messed with survivor, but there’s one line in the listing that may give you pause: “Most classic cars we consider as projects because of the age and wear.” So, which category does the Lotus fall into – a low-mileage survivor or a project?
Looks like a Copart car.I think that the seller
bought it from them,hoping to fix it up cheaply,but
found out that it was a money pit.
Too much money for this one. The factory wheels were 2 different sizes front to back. They found out early that too much power and you’d loose the rear on acceleration. Nice cars but not one I’d feel good about buying off a dirt lot.
Rational brain: “Buying this would be dumb on a Darwin Award level. Even the nicest Lotus on Earth is a gigantic risk and potential money pit, and who knows what skeletons may be in this particular car’s closet?”
Emotional Brain: “It’s freaking awesome. Want. Want. Want.”
Rational brain: “Are you kidding me? Your daily driver has more horsepower than this. Besides, every 1980s Lotus interior looks like it was upholstered with leather trash bags.”
Emotional brain: “THE NAME IS BOND. JAMES BOND”
Rational brain: “You really are hopeless. Beautiful car, though.”
1980s brain: has Miami Vice opening song playing in head…
Jeff Lavery wrote: “So, which category does the Lotus fall into – a low-mileage survivor or a project?”
I see it as a project … an engine swap project. A few years ago I learned that Renegade Hybrids, the Porsche engine swap experts, installed an E-Rod LS3 into an Esprit just like this. The swap required a new transaxle, true, but for this engine that was a given.
I also found out about a Lotus Esprit that has an Audi V8 installed.
In light of the existence of these projects, I suspect that skeletons in the closet would pose no problem for anyone with the money and means to pull off a similar project.
Heart says yes, head says “Run AWAY now!”
Underpowered cars with an engine like a grenade. Poor build quality. The “Patina” on the engine looks like the car was sitting in the salty air for at least aa decade.
At the advertised price, I’d say pass.
This car is sitting at Copart in Riverview Fl right now. It goes to auction on the 9th. Its lot number 33111471.
I’ve seen this before: Someone will put a Copart car on EBay, Craigslist, etc. with a jacked up price hoping to find a sucker, and they they bid on the car.
One way to look at it is that this is an enterprising individual. The other, true, way to look at it is someone is illegally selling something they don’t own.
Just bought an excellent original one for almost the same $$
Watched them build these cars in Heathel, England. Some of the employees were not happy. One showed us his swollen arms from working with fiberglass.
It stands to reason that the build quality was lacking. Neat well engineered cars non the less.
You can see the mileage in the video.
Not a Miami Vice .. those were 1 fake Ferrari Daytona and 1 real Testarossa , if it was the $35k price tag would be a bargain. However , these came out when I was a teen and loved the fact that it was a David in the land of Goliaths, a measly 4 cyl. Turbo against most big 6s and 8s and 12s. Much like the Pantera that at least had a reliable 8 , this one could compete with a decent original price of $43,000 and got 33 miles to the gallon! Just what the oil embargo raised dreamers could hope for. Unfortunately as most here have exhibited, you have a real expensive Triumph tr7 with the Reliability (British ) mildly better than an Range Rover . Still , I would buy it just to park in the garage .
So, how long was it underwater?
Way too high a price by almost double what it’s worth. A couple of years ago a friend of mine sold 2 of them, one a turbo 4 and the other a v6 or v8. He got $18K for the 4 and $20K for the newer one. They were both in really excellent condition and he took care them well.
Double? Try 10x what it’s worth. I’ve owned 3 of these things and after looking at that for 2 seconds I’d pay YOU to get it off my lawn. No, no, a thousand times no. Shudder.
Any one who would put a LS anything in one of these clearly has no understanding of how these cars were built. I would put an RX-7 turbo in it, that way you could keep the weight to design specs, Too many people are LS happy, they watch to much TV.
Need to check your scales, most dressed LS engines weigh less than dressed Mazda rotary turbos. I am a Ford man at heart, but also an engineer who works on engines, the LS-LT engines are world class. They are like 1969 Camaro’s, I warn customers that at sometime and someplace one of them will pass you, I don’t care if you are in the fastest Porsche or Ferrari ever made, or if you are at the Nurburgring, Bonneville, drag strip, or on the street!
I love the general idea of a rotary turbo swap, but isn’t that just the same problem (ie: finicky, unreliable engines) with a different brand name?
Richard Gere ground the gears on this before Julia Roberts gave him a lecture on how to drive.