Lotus Esprit Turbo SE

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The Lotus stand at the 1972 Turin show showed an inkling of what the future might hold. A startling Giugiaro-styled concept based on a stretched Europa chassis wowed the crowds, but they had to wait until 1976 before they could get behind the wheel of the new Esprit.

The first version, the S1 as it was later to become known, used the 2-litre 907 engine mated to a Citroen/Maserati SM gearbox, the same basic design remaining in production until 2004, an incredible run of 28 years.

A mildly face-lifted S2 version added a larger engine towards the end of its production run, fully growing up in 1980 with the introduction of the Turbo version in the S3. The normally aspirated 2.2-litre engine produced 172bhp which was boosted to 215bhp with the addition of a turbocharger. It could sprint to 60mph in just 5.2 seconds on the way to a top speed of 152mph with the best handling this side of a race car. During 1987 Lotus unveiled the Peter Stevens re-style, which whilst updating the original concept in a way which was to last a further 17 years, never quite caught the spirit of the earlier cars.

This 1986 example was purchased through Peter Smith Sports Cars near Derby and was only used for the first three years of its life before being taken off the road. Having acumulated under 13,400 miles during that period, it still wears its original tyres on the correct Compomotive alloy wheels. Ordered in attractive dark green with the rare air-conditioning option, it also retains the original Blaupunkt radio.

Briefly recommissioned (apparently by the factory) in 1998, it got a fresh MOT and was driven just a short distance before being put back in the garage, the mileage having risen to just 13,517 miles.

Removed from its hiding place over the last month or so, it has been fired up, the vendor confirming that the engine runs nicely and that the car drives and stops, although will no doubt require some light recommissioning as a result of having spent so long in storage.

The epitome of a certain Seventies Playboy culture, these dramatic Esprits show what sportscars could have looked like if the nanny state hadn't thrown so many health and safety constraints in the path of their designers. Their like will never be seen again and this low mileage cracker is sure to be of interest to any thoughtful collector.