The Esprit Turbo was introduced in 1980 with a 2.2 litre turbocharged four cylinder engine producing 210bhp. It has a glassfibre body mounted on a steel backbone chassis, with all round independent suspension. In it's day it was one of the best performing cars available anywhere, with a top speed in excess of 150mph, and 0-60mph taking around 5.5 seconds.
The first 100 (out of a total production of 1658) Esprit Turbos made were special editions in the livery of the Essex Petroleum Company which in 1980 was the main sponsor of the Lotus Grand Prix team. This is the version modelled here by AUTOart.
This model is one of my favourites, thanks to the great looking light metallic blue paint with the red interior (an unusual colour combination) and overall it is well made. It has a good level of detail and is worthy of 7.5/10 marks. AUTOart also make black, white and a metallic red Bond version of the Turbo Esprit, all of which I have! Hence you could say I like these Esprits!
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