This car started life in 1980 as one of the last normally aspirated Esprits built by Lotus.  The car was totalled in 1981, shooting off a small cliff, hitting a tree, and dropping to the ground.  The totalled car was bought back by the original dealer for reconscruction, but became a parts car instead.  A few years later it was purchased by a private individual who had dreams of turning the reamins into a GT race car.  This project went about 1/2 way and stopped. 

     I purchased the basketcase in 1989 and rebuilt it with a red finish.  I drove it for a few years then took it apart again to replace the chassis and  paint it bright yellow.  I developed the original motor to around  190 HP which is near the practical maximum for that block.  In 1999 I disassembled the car and  removed much of the extraneous equipment to reduce the car's weight by about 150 lbs.  Although it was one of the quickest non-turbo Esprits around, it still felt sluggish compared to my other vehicles.

     In 2001 I purchased a used 1989 Turbo Esprit SE motor with about 300 hp and proceeded with a conversion.  After much thinking and tinkering I decided to install an 87 Lotus Turbo chassis that had just become available.  This was a perfect match, since I wanted to retain the original Citroen gearbox with inboard disk brakes.

     The car was completed in time for the All British Car Meet in Palo Alto CA on September 9th 2001.  With 300hp and around 2300 lbs, it got there rather quickly!