In honor of its 50th anniversary, a British business aims to produce the ultimate Lotus Esprit. This restomod, known as the Encor Series 1, will combine the V-8 engine from later models with the wedge-shaped design of the original car. It will feature advanced technology on board and be very lightweight, thanks to its extensive use of carbon fiber. The Lotus Esprit was first shown at the Paris Motor Show in 1975. This month, we’re celebrating its 50th birthday. Like most Lotus cars, the first ones had low power to move light loads, but turbocharged power was soon added. With its twin-turbocharged V-8, the Esprit remained useful twenty years after its initial release. In honor of the Esprit’s 60th birthday, a new company is restoring a spectacular, limited-edition car. It’s interesting that Simon Lane, who was formerly the Director of Advanced Performance at Lotus, helped start the company that is now known as Encor. A lot of people from Lotus are working on the project, along with people from Pagani, Koenigsegg, Aston Martin, and Porsche. Bond, the good news is that we’ve created a new Q-Division after studying the auto industry. Encor calls their updated Esprit the Series 1, even though it asks buyers to provide their own Series 4 Esprit, which is confusing. This is because only the frame will be used to hold the build together, and Series 4 cars are equipped with V-8 engines. This frame will be covered with a full carbon-fiber bodywork that looks like the original Esprit, which was very cool and edgy. The inside will also be updated with new technologies, like the ability to connect a smartphone. The 1970s Lotus build quality will be replaced with current precision. The twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-8 engine will be disassembled and reassembled with increased power, and the pop-up headlights will be replaced with LED lights. And most importantly, more reliability. Lotus owners joke that the name of the company means “Lots of Trouble, Usually Serious,” and the cars have lived up to that idea. If you make something as light and bright as possible, it can live as long as a hummingbird. But Encor will be living a dream if it can successfully restomod the famous Lotus flagship of the 1970s in a way that looks like a Singer. The success of the car was helped by James Bond’s Esprit in the movies For Your Eyes Only and The Spy Who Loved Me. There should be a market for an Esprit that is fast by today’s standards and can get from A to B without breaking down and needing to be pulled to C. But the people you want to reach must be wealthy. As is typical for these very detailed restomods, Encor is asking more for its Series 1. You will have to pay a substantial $579,900 for the donor car, plus any additional options you choose. That’s a lot of money for an Esprit. Even the best Series 1 cars or last-generation V-8s cost about a sixth of that. The prices are lower, though, if you already have a Singer. Additionally, these will be very hard to obtain because Encor only produces 50 Series 1 cars. The Lotus Esprit’s birthday is today.
