Description

The Lotus Esprit Turbo is one of the most iconic British performance cars of the 1980s — a striking blend of Giugiaro’s razor edged design and Lotus’s engineering finesse. Racing Lines Hampshire are pleased to present a beautifully preserved Turbo model, with the early sought after “Dry Sump Engine”, a car that captures the spirit of Hethel’s golden era and remains one of the most distinctive and collectible Esprit variants with the added bonus of being identical to the Lotus Esprit Turbo featured in the 1981 James Bond film “For Your Eyes Only” driven by Roger Moore.

The Car
Supplied new by Lotus main dealer Norfolk Motor Company in Norwich and registered to them on 01 June 1981 for the first 6 months of its life. The Lotus was originally specified in Calypso Red with champagne leather being subsequently resprayed in 2022 to its current Copper Fire Metallic colour at a cost of £10500 during an extensive refurbishment between 2021 and 2023 by Stocks Sports Cars. The Lotus has been retro fitted with the rare and desirable overhead Panasonic music system that was a £600 option new and is fully working and sounds great.

Provenance and Condition
This Esprit Turbo comes with a large history file containing, invoices, old MOT certificates, back to 1992, the owner’s manual and a DVLA provided list of all owners before 1992. The history reflects consistent maintenance by specialists over the years with a period of owner maintenance after 2000 and a period off the road from 2008.
Extensively re-commissioned by Stocks Sports Cars between 2021 and 2023 with extensive mechanical work on the engine completed by RMS Ltd the Lotus specialist, the Lotus was acquired by its current owner in February 2023. Since then the Lotus has received further regular maintenance by Beech Hill Garage, the classic car garage in Berkshire with the last major service in June 2025 and minor work and an MOT done in July 2026.
The Lotus comes with the rare and correct fully refurbished 4-stud Compomotive alloy wheels correctly shod with nearly new matching period Pirelli tyres and additional documentation, magazines and sales brochures for the car

This example’s condition, provenance, desirable Dry Sump Engine configuration and rare Copper Fire Metallic colour, only 5 RHD cars were supplied by the factory in this colour, place it among the more compelling Esprit Turbos available today. Add in the “Bond factor” and this really is a desirable car.
Presented by Racing Lines Hampshire, this Esprit Turbo is ready for its next enthusiast custodian and can be viewed at our facility near Petersfield Hampshire