Lotus Esprit V8

This Esprit V8 was first registered at Lotus's Hethel factory in March 1999 and kept by the company for its own use, covering over 9,000 miles in its first year. The page puts it at under 57,000 miles from new, and describes it as a matching-numbers car in its original Ruby Red. Lotus built around 1,237 V8 Esprits, making it a scarce late example of the model.

The service book records stamps from Lotus itself, a Lotus main agent and specialists, the last at 53,186 miles. The final MOT was in 2010 and the car then sat off the road for about 14 years.

It is now being recommissioned. The original engine has been rebuilt by Cleasby Engine Services with two reconditioned turbochargers and eight new injectors. The brakes, suspension, steering rack and cooling system have been rebuilt or renewed, and the clutch plate and slave cylinder are new. A custom stainless exhaust is still to be made, and the work is not yet complete.