Lotus gained true entry into the supercar league with the amazing Turbo Esprit of 1980. The first cars were liveried in the colours of Essex Petroleum, Lotus's racing sponsor at the time, featuring a full leather interior and complex roof mounted stereo - pushing the price to a hefty £21,000! The Turbo's popularity steadily grew due to reduction in price and a 'starring role' in the 1981 Bond movie 'For Your Eyes Only'.

The car adopted a more aggressive stance with the addition of flared sills, engine bay extraction slats and a rear lip spoiler over and above the normally aspirated model. Handling and cornering were exceptional thanks to an improved chassis (designed with a V8 in mind!).

The HC model of 1987 offered a slight increase in performance and was the last of the Giugiaro originals before the Peter Stevens redesign.

Body	Coupe 2 Door, 2 Seat
Layout	Mid Engine, Rear Drive
Gearbox	5 Speed Manual

Top Speed	150 mph  241 kmh
0 - 30 mph 0 - 48 kmh	2.1 sec
0 - 60 mph 0 - 100 kmh	5.6 sec  5.9 sec
0 - 100 mph 0 - 160 kmh	15.3 sec
0 - 124 mph 0 - 200 kmh
0 - 186 mph 0 - 300 kmh
30 - 70 mph 48 - 113 kmh
Standing qtr Mile Standing Km	14.4sec @95mph  26.6sec @???kmh
60 - 0 mph 97 - 0 kmh
0 - 100 - 0 mph 0 - 160 - 0 kmh
Lateral Accn	0.89 g
Fuel Cons
Emissions

New Price (UK)	£n/a
Used Price (UK)	£8000 - £14000