Would you swap your 911 for a Lotus Esprit?

[herman maire]

Originally Posted by porsche930dude

here it is
http://www.theriens.com/lotus/start.htm

Ok, that link makes me NEVER want to own a Esprit ..... that dude was a sucker for punishment. 4 cars to make 1

[the]

I've always like the look of them, and the prices as used cars have always been tempting. But after looking at and driving a few, they lost their appeal to me. IMO they are surprisingly poorly constructed of a lot of pretty low grade materials. It reminded me of a kit car in many ways. In the end, it was the only car that I got tired of owning, without ever having to actually own it! Looking for one for six month was enough to get it out of my system.

I was looking a while ago, though, at the one's up to around the 1991 model year. I think the later ones may be better as far as quality (but I don't know).

Those thing are around for cheap, I wonder if anyone is doing a V8 conversion on them? That would be fun, a late 80s Espirt with a current Z06 505 hp engine.

[berettafan]

Which leads you right to the house of Pantera.

[89911]

Originally Posted by RG5

That comes across as a little defensive. Just an fun question from my part. Seriously I could probably never ever swap my carrera for an Esprit but they do look cool.

Hey, I put a smilie face in it! Really though, you are on one of the most hardened diehard 911 sites you will EVER find. You really didn't think you would get a lot of agreeable post, did you? I think owners of 911's respect cars that handle impeccably, rock solid reliability, classic lines, and can be worked on when it needs. I can't say an Esprit hits any of those categories. A Bmw 2002 and and Acura NSX could if I'm thinking off the top of my head of non Porsche cars I would add, not trade.

[eimkeith]

oooh Pantera.... do that instead.

[SXSMAN]

Originally Posted by JGalt

My personal memories of the Esprit was how incredibly difficult it is to work on. Very complicated solutions to otherwise simple problems. In typical Lotus fashion, a lot of the car has to be disassembled to to routine repairs.

It is pretty, but it is not practical.

+ 1

Nearly bought one many years ago .

Sooooooooo glad the deal fell through !!!

It's been a few years but I ago remember them being PITA to work on .

I took the money that I had an invested it . 2 years later it had tripled .

Put that towards my first house .

Esprits are not for tall people either , me I'd run not walk away from one . Cool to look at but fugly runs through to the bone .

I've had my share of British iron over the years but would stay clear of this one .

Just my 02 , SxS

[1100sport]

As a very well designed mid engined chassis (by Sir Colin Chapman himself), a well sorted Lotus Esprit would shine in roadhandling compared to a rear engined Porsche 74/89 911 with its simplistic suspension (although well thought out).
The thing is that the 911 is miles ahead in terms of quality of manufacturing and reliability. On this count, I don't think any car of the same era can compete with a 911.
eg the gearbox on the lotus (made by renault for small output city cars) is pure crap and would break any other day.

[GothingNC]

Originally Posted by unclebilly

Tell you what, I'll buy a Lotus and trade you for your 911.

These cars are like Jags, no body seriously wants them and they are hard to sell unless they are bargain priced.

British cars are turds. Stay clear. I remember when I had my V12 VDP, I picked up one of my british co-workers, his comments were, "Nice motor mate... typical british car... took care of all the wrong details." They look good, might handle well but reliability and function were the lowest priorities.

No wonder why I see more Jag's listed in the local classifieds then BMW's or Mercedes combined.

[Bullet Bob]

I loved the Esprit and I really planned to get one until I took a test drive. It was a MAJOR POS in my opinion. I still really like the looks but there is a list of cars I would buy before one of those. Things I noticed:

Couldn't see very well
Noisy (4 banger noise, not flat six music)
rattles and squeeks
very heavy steering

My overall impression is that it was junk. I bought a 914-6 instead :-). Not the best to look at but about the most fun of any car I have driven.

[Elombard]

I would like to try one for a while as well. You can always go back to a p-car. I have done a good bit of reading and the 94 and 95 s4 and s4s are a big step up in terms of performance and reliability and have a similar look. They are mid 20s though vs. teens for the pre 90 (?) cars. They seem to have alot higher (quicker) re-sale and an enthusiastic following vs the early cars. There is an Esprit section on Elisetalk.com thats informative. I hear the yahoo esprit group (?) or something is well attended also.

I have also thought about the s1,s2 cars that were normally aspirated. I always thought that would be a fun cheap (<10K) mid engined car to play with and modify. Unfortunately some of the compromises Lotus apparently made are comical (unless you are writing the checks).

[RWebb]

The British should not be allowed to manufacture anything more mechanically complicated than a shotgun.

[EarlyPorsche]

Get a Myers Manx.

[rching]

[JeremyD]

Drive one (the lotus espirit) - especially right after your 911 and you'll re evaluate your desire.

Now the pantera - oh yeah - I'd take one of those over an esprit - Not quite the precision instrument that the Porsche is - more beat on your chest - hold on...

[RG5]

Originally Posted by 89911

Hey, I put a smilie face in it! Really though, you are on one of the most hardened diehard 911 sites you will EVER find. You really didn't think you would get a lot of agreeable post, did you? I think owners of 911's respect cars that handle impeccably, rock solid reliability, classic lines, and can be worked on when it needs. I can't say an Esprit hits any of those categories. A Bmw 2002 and and Acura NSX could if I'm thinking off the top of my head of non Porsche cars I would add, not trade.

Thats better. My post was really to invoke the passion we all have for these cars. No way we would swap our precious carreras for a glorified kit car. These replies have cemented that in my mind. I really like the supermodel analogy.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by RG5

Sounds great, would you care to elaborate on how your 89 Esprit T compares to your 85 Carrera 3.2 - I have an 85 as well. Best car i have ever had, but for the sake of discussion lets assume I could potentially consider swapping if for an 89 Esprit Turbo.

The Carrera is way better and more fun to drive.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by rching

That's a gorgeous car! My brother has a 72 that PI built for him 5 years ago. Fast and brutal like my 930, but it's ergonomics really leave a lot to be desired.

[dorschman]

let's break it down into basics-

Maybe the lotus to look at

Definitely the Porsche to drive.

[dd74]

Maybe an Elise or Exige. But not an Esprit.

[porsche930dude]

Originally Posted by berettafan

930dude, could you share some info on that bad-a$$ bug you posted on the 'transportation' thread? It was just a few pages ago...


(sorry to hijack, terhats a different thread could be started?)

Damn i knew someone was going to as about that. I deleted the link from my favorites not long after i posted that . Ill try to find it again but there is a slim chance