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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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Auto blog

Lotus to receive $16M government grant

Mon, 25 Nov 2013

Troubled British automaker Lotus is getting a second infusion of cash following a 100-million-pound ($161.5-million) investment by its parent company DRB-Hicom that was made in August. The substantially smaller investment, a mere 10 million pounds ($16.2 million), comes from the British government's Regional Growth Fund.
The fund, which is part of a 3-billion-pound ($4.8-billion) fund to spur economic growth in the UK, will allow Lotus to invest even further in research and development as it seeks to reinvent its lineup of lightweight sports cars. The fund will also allow the UK-based outfit to provide further training for its new crop of employees.
"This grant is part of a wider strategy for Lotus created to ensure we thrive and grow. We are responding to increased global demand for our cars and engineering consultancy services and this grant will help to position Lotus as the forefront of global automotive innovation," said Aslam Farikullah (shown above with UK Business Secretary Vince Cable MP), the chief operating officer at Lotus.

Lotus Evija X track special appears in spy photos at the Nurburgring

Wed, Jun 14 2023

Few people would say the Lotus Evija is lacking in performance. It's meant to make just shy of 2,000 horsepower and is light for an electric car at around 3,700 pounds. But apparently Lotus wants to go further. These spy shots reveal a wild track-only special that's clearly labeled the Lotus Evija X testing at the Nurburgring. We're assuming this X will be substantially lighter than a regular Evija. It has a bare carbon body with seemingly fewer individual pieces. The headlights are gone and so are the rear windows. The interior appears gutted, too. That carbon body is far from stock, too. It's much wider and has all manner of downforce-producing add-ons. The front has a massive front splitter and canards and cutouts above the front wheels. The sides even have wide splitters with struts. And the X's crown aero accessory is that enormous wing that rises well above the roof.  The wide body also encompasses fat slick racing tires that are almost certainly not street legal. They bear the Pirelli P Zero name on the sidewalls, and they're wrapped around center-lock wheels. AP Racing brakes are tucked inside. There are of course plenty of questions surrounding the Evija X. It's definitely a track-only machine, but is it a one-off, or is it going to be sold in extremely limited numbers to select buyers? Maybe Lotus wants to take the Evija racing? Though it seems more like a rules-be-damned type of car like the Pagani Zonda R. Or maybe the Volkswagen ID.R, the fastest electric car to lap the 'Ring, would be a closer analogue to the Evija X. The spy photographer that provided these photos said the track was rented out for the day by Lotus, and some sort of notary was on hand, likely to certify a lap time. If Lotus is gunning for an EV lap record there, the Evija R is going to be outrageously fast. The ID.R's time sits at a shocking 6:05.336. And if the Lotus tops it, it would become the second fastest overall car at the 'Ring. We'll definitely be looking forward to more details and an eventual lap time. Related video:

Yes, we still love sports cars | Autoblog Podcast #490

Fri, Oct 14 2016

This week, David Gluckman and Mike Austin talk sports cars of all kinds. We hit the week's big Mustang news, talk about a variety of cars we've been driving, and then respond to some questions from listeners. We also threw in a trivia question for you to ponder while you listen. The rundown is below. Remember, if you have a car-related question you'd like us to answer or you want questionable buying advice of your very own, send a message or a voice memo to podcast at autoblog dot com. Please send trivia questions, too! Autoblog Podcast #490 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Topics and stories we mention The four-cylinder Ford Mustang can produce nearly V8-level torque for $699 Ford halts Mustang production in wake of September sales dive 2017 GMC Sierra 2500HD All Terrain X eyes Ram Power Wagon 2017 Lotus Evora 400 2017 Fiat 124 Spider 24 Hours of LeMons: Racevan is no more (and for sale!) Rundown Intro - 00:00 The news - 01:31 What we've been driving - 15:13 Spend My Money/listener questions - 34:08 Total Duration: 53:27 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Feedback Email – Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Fiat Ford Lotus fiat 124 spider lotus evora 400