Lotus Esprit

Series 1/S1

The first generation Esprit was produced from 1976 to 1978, with just over 700 examples produced. It was powered by a 2.0L inline-4 engine designed and produced by Lotus, which was mounted to a 5-speed Citroën C35 manual transmission. Its body was fiberglass and it was fitted with some components borrowed from other vehicles, such as the Fiat X1/9-sourced taillights.

Very early examples of the Lotus Esprit were used in the Roger Moore era, 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, directed by Lewis Gilbert.

Series 2/S2

The second generation Esprit was produced from 1978 to 1982, with this generation seeing production numbers increase to over 1,100 units, but with the longer production run, this meant fewer were sold per year on average. This generation had more than one engine, with the 2.0L Type 907 I4, and the 2.2 L Type 912 I4, both designed and built by Lotus, and both still mounted to the same Citroën transmission from the S1. The larger engine was an update that began in 1980 with the "S2.2" sub-generation.

A limited number of Commemorative Edition examples exist, likely between 149 (modern estimate) and 300 (vague Lotus production number estimate). These models are black and gold to commemorate Lotus' victory in the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship.

An Essex Turbo Esprit was offered in 1980, which was the first factory turbocharged model.

Series 3/S3/Turbo Esprit

Produed from 1982 to 1988, the third generation was the first to offer a turbo model from the beginning of the generation. Although similar in most ways, the Turbo Esprit was often treated as a different model. The steering wheel, control stalks behind it, and the air bag inside it were from a Saturn, while many interior control buttons were derived from a Peugeot 106. The interior door handles came from an Opel Calibra. The blower motor came from a Ford Fiesta, while the window motors were from Jaguar, and the AC compressor was from GM. On the outside, the antenna was from a Vauxhall Tigra but placed on the Esprit differently. The side mirrors came from a Citroën CX, and the motors that lift the pop-up headlights were the same used in the Pontiac Fiero.

X180

The only generation to ditch the "Series" or "S" title, the X180 was the project code Lotus used for this Esprit. The styling was done by Peter Stevens, who would later design the Jaguar XJR-15 and the famous McLaren F1.

This featured many parts that were first produced for other vehicles. The new rectangular taillights were brought over from the 1983-1985 Toyota Corolla Levin AE86.

Series 4/S4

The fifth and final generation was produced from 1994 to 2004, with over 3,600 produced over those ten years. In 1996, Lotus launched the Esprit V8. The car came equipped with Lotus' own design Type 918 V8 engine. The engine is an all-aluminium 90° DOHC with 4 valves per cylinder, a flat-plane crankshaft, and two Garrett T25/60 turbochargers.