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1986 Lotus Esprit S3 Coupe 2-door 2.2l on 2040-cars

Year:1986 Mileage:19253 Color: The paint is in excellent condition except for a few small blemishes that are captured in the pictures
Location:

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Advertising:

 Behold an amazing example of the beautiful Lotus Esprit S3. This car is arguably the ultimate Lotus Esprit, marrying the gorgeous Giugiario body with S3 galvanized chassis, 5-lug BBS wheels, bigger brakes, and more robust rear suspension than the earlier models. This car is one of only a few in the United States and may be the nicest example on Earth!

This car was purchased new at the factory by a Californian and shipped back to the United States when the gray market was alive and well. It has lived it's life in garages in California and Nevada and has zero rust and corrosion. I am the second owner of the car.

The original owner parked the car in his garage with a thick cover on it in 1991. There is sat for the next 20 years. When I purchased the car, it needed a little TLC to get it running again.

Exterior:
The paint is in excellent condition except for a few small blemishes that are captured in the pictures (some rock chips in the lower front valence area, 1 chip in the right rear bumper, and one craze mark in the rear hatch near the lower left corner of the window.) The red color is very deep and could be polished to new condition without much elbow grease. I polished a few sections with Zymol as a test and they turned out beautiful.
The BBS wheels are in perfect condition except for one small curb mark shown in the one picture of the front right wheel. The Goodyear Eagle GT tires are certainly period correct, and may be the original units. The tires are in very good condition with no cracks in the rubber.
The sunroof is one of the great features of the S3. I've seen many Esprits hacked to try to recreate this effect, but this car has the actual factory sunroof with all the required reinforcement that go with it. For taller drivers, this feature helps provide more head room. The sunroof mechanism works fine and there are no leaks.
All of the lights on the car are in good condition except for one crack in one of the front turn signals.
The underbody of the car is in excellent condition with no signs of damage or jacking at the wrong location.

Engine: I checked compression, rebuilt both carburetors, replaced the factory fuel line with modern braided stainless lines made by Dave Bean, replaced the fuel pump with a New Solid State Unit, replaced the spark plugs, changed the oil and filter, and rebuilt the clutch slave cylinder. It comes with a K&N air filter that has not been installed yet. The engine runs rough when cold but smooths out when warmed up. A tune up by a Lotus expert would help get the most from the engine, but it is driveable as it is. The engine has no oil leaks.

Drivetrain: The transmission shifts perfectly into all gears. The clutch works perfectly.
Brakes: The brakes do not pull to either side, indicating that all the calipers are functioning correctly.

Interior:
The interior is in excellent condition. The leather dash is like new and has had no chemicals put on it under my watch. The seats are in new condition, having been protected by custom sheep skins their entire life. The sheep skins are in excellent condition too.
The carpet is in perfect condition. There are slight signs of wear on wear points like door handles.

 
Electrical:
All electrical components that I have tried work including the dash lights, turn signals, headlights, power windows, and radio, except the horn.  I have not tried the air conditioning, but suspect it would need a recharge at a minimum. Note: the car will not be shipped with a battery.

Accessories:
The car comes with the original spare, manual, jack, and tool kit.
The car has an audiophile stereo from that era including Nakamichi TD-500 deck, Proton amplifier behind the passenger seat, and Blaupunkt speakers.
The car comes with service records dating back to the 1980s and all the receipts I have generated.
It also comes with a thick form-fitting car cover that protects the car well.

Things the car needs: The shocks for the rear hatch need replacing, I took the buckles for the engine cover off when I was replacing the fuel lines and have not put them back on. This is why the carpet looks like it is falling down off the engine cover in the boot area.

The Actual VIN number is SCC085912GHH10647. I had to change the check digit to 6 for Ebay to accept the VIN number. This is probably the result of the Gray Market entry into the US. You can decode the actual VIN at espritfactfile dot com to see the manufacturing details of the car.

Bottom line: If you have ever wanted a Giugiaro-bodied Lotus Esprit, this is your best shot of having a museum example. This car is amazingly correct with perfect seats and good original tires. It is currently located in Las Vegas, NV. I'd be happy to answer any other questions that you have. Happy Bidding!


On Oct-21-13 at 19:27:08 PDT, seller added the following information:

 


On Oct-22-13 at 17:26:50 PDT, seller added the following information:

 Additional Information..
Several people have asked about the paint. The paint is all original and there is no evidence of body damage and/or respray. This car will easily be a competitive concourse car.

Also, I was contacted by a fellow sports car enthusiast in Florida that recently sold a white S3. You can see how an S3 looks and sounds on his you tube video by searching for (Lotus Esprit S3 owner)


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Lotus Emira V6 First Edition starts at $93,900 in the U.S.

Sun, Oct 3 2021

A Lotus Talk forum thread revealed the letter Lotus sent to U.S. buyers who put in reservations for the coming Emira. The automaker revealed U.S. pricing; the V6 First Edition arriving in early 2022 starts at $93,900, and in late 2022 as a 2023-model-year-offering there will be a base four-cylinder Emira that starts at $74,900. Before the base I4 comes, the four-pot will also get a First Edition that we expect will elevate that $74,900 figure. Those prices don't include destination.   That V6 isn't cheap, of course, but it's less than the $100,000 price tag we guessed at based on the Emira's European pricing. That launch car also comes just about fully loaded, graced with the Driver's Pack, Lower Black Pack (more on that in a moment), Design Pack, and Convenience Pack, plus optional 20-inch wheels with diamond-cut two-tone finish and two-piece brake discs with branded calipers. It won't cost anything to swap the wheels for silver or black versions. The only other big-time options we know about so far are the $1,400 Extended Black Pack, which adds more black accents in places like the roof, mirror caps, and exhaust finishers, and the $2,150 six-speed automatic to replace the six-speed manual. But why would you get an automatic? The engine in the initial Emira is the same Toyota-sourced supercharged 3.5-liter V6 found in the Evora, producing 400 horsepower and 310 or 317 pound-feet of torque depending on transmission — the automatic gets the greater torque. The go-to competition for the V6 version is the Porsche Cayman GT4, the German doling out 14 more horsepower than the Englander for the same claimed 0-60 time, while being about $8,000 more expensive.  Next year's base model will run with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder procured from AMG, producing 360 hp and shifting through a dual-clutch transmission. The four-cylinder starts at about $2,400 more than the 350-hp Cayman S, but both cars will weigh and accelerate just about the same.   The six colors available now for the Lotus are Seneca Blue, Magma Red, Hethel Yellow, Dark Verdant, Shadow Grey and Nimbus Grey, but Lotus says more colors are coming. Word is Lotus plans to update its configurator on October 18, too, which should provide a better idea of what's going to be possible.  The Emira will replace every current model in Lotus' range, the Evora, Exige, and Elise, and be the last new internal combustion sports car from the Hethel maker.

Radford Type 62-2 is rad, a coachbuilt sports car based on Lotus underpinnings

Mon, Aug 9 2021

There’s a new coachbuilder out there, and the company calls itself Radford. Today, Radford revealed its first car — the Type 62-2 — and itÂ’s based on the chassis and underpinnings of the Lotus Evora. ThatÂ’s an extremely good place to begin building from. Plus, the company has some big names attached to it. F1 racer Jenson Button is the one who dialed in the carÂ’s driving dynamics. Mark Stubbs, formerly of Bentley, Bugatti, Aston Martin and more, led the design process. And Ant Anstead, now co-hosting "Wheeler Dealers," is handling the build/production work. There may be an Evora underneath all the new bodywork, but this vehicle doesnÂ’t look like one on the outside. Instead, itÂ’s meant to take after the original Lotus Type 62 race car. Take one quick look at both, and it appears as though Radford has done a standup job of getting it there. ItÂ’s even been revealed initially in livery worn by the old Type 62. WeÂ’ll note that there will be two cars with slightly different looks. The first is a “Classic” version without a wing and fitted with staggered 17/18-inch wheels. The other model is called “Gold Leaf,” and it has the Type 62Â’s wings, can be done in the livery you see here and features larger center-locking 18/19-inch wheels. Thanks to the aluminum-intensive structure of the Evora, the Radford Type 62-2 weighs just under 2,205 pounds. Radford saved additional weight by using all carbon fiber body panels. This lightweight body is propelled forward via the 3.5-liter Toyota-provided supercharged V6 used in the Evora. Its base tune in the Type 62-2 offers up 430 horsepower. However, upgrading from the Classic to the Gold Leaf brings an increase to 500 horsepower. Radford says it gets the extra power via upgraded pistons, connecting rods, camshafts and new electronic engine mapping. If you want the extra power in the Classic, Radford says you can still optionally have it. As you may already suspect, a six-speed manual transmission is available on the Type 62-2. Unlike the Evora, though, you can also spec a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. ItÂ’s the only transmission available if you spec the engine up to 500 horsepower, so pick your poison on that front — thereÂ’s no manual available for the high-power version. As for the suspension, Radford says itÂ’s lowered the car more and changed the suspension geometry a bit compared to the standard Lotus design — thanks, Jenson.

Lotus readying Evora crossover?!

Fri, Dec 19 2014

If it seems to you like every sports car manufacturer is getting into the crossover game, that's because it's pretty much true. And now, we potentially have one more to add to the list, as Britain's Car magazine reports that Lotus – yes, Lotus – is proceeding with plans to build a crossover. Rather than build a new crossover from the ground up, however, Lotus is said to be developing a high-riding version of the existing Evora. It's tipped to keep its rear-drive configuration (rather than going with a proper all-wheel-drive system), with a raised ride height and more rugged styling. In that respect, it may emerge more like a Local Motors Rally Fighter than a Porsche Cayenne challenger. That may yet emerge as not such a bad thing as it may seem on the surface, but for those purists who'd balk at the notion of an off-road Lotus, the British automaker has other plans in store as well. The crossover would arrive on the heels of a refreshed version of the existing Evora, a potential convertible version of the same, and a hardcore, track-focused successor to the 2-Eleven is also said to be in the works. In the end, Lotus would only be the latest in a long string of established sports car makers to get into the crossover game. Porsche of course led the way with the Cayenne and followed up with the Macan, Maserati is set to follow suit, and last we heard, Lamborghini was still awaiting approval to build the Urus concept.