1991 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE: Beautiful, Pearl White, Just Detailed, Well Sorted

1991 Lotus Esprit SE

Intro:

For your consideration is this stunning 1991 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE. It has a clean title and accident free history. Its pearlescent white finish and exterior presentation is impressive. The exterior has recently just been extensively detailed along with other minor cosmetic improvements. The contrasting blue leather covered interior is an enjoyable place to be. Most importantly, this Esprit Turbo is well sorted mechanically and is a joy to drive. These Esprit Turbos offer the exotic sports car experience for considerably less money. This is a vehicle from my personal collection. I am an enthusiast that takes how I represent my vehicles very seriously. Provided are extensive details, photos, and a video for you to be very confident this Esprit Turbo is for you. I have sold various sports and exotic cars across the world and maintain a 100% feedback rating. Buy with confidence.

Regards,

Shane

262.391.1069

Video:

https://youtu.be/KuIIXEiYX_I

Please view the 20+ minute video of this Esprit Turbo. Shown is the overall exterior presentation, details of the exterior, interior, engine compartment, driving footage, and underbody. Notice the glossiness of the reflections, how great the car starts/runs, how excellent it sounds under boost, and etc. The footage was recorded in May 2023.

Photos:

https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAD7Hk

Please view the 200+ photos of this Esprit Turbo. Shown are general exterior shots, exterior details, interior shots, engine compartment shots, and more. The photos were taken in May 2023.

Exterior:

From five feet away this Esprit looks nearly perfect. Its exterior presentation is impressive. The finish is the correct pearlescent white color and is in excellent condition. Around 2008 the exterior received a high quality professional repaint due to the original paint showing some aging. In January of 2023 I did extensive detailing to the car. The finish was still in very nice shape but to bring it up another notch I wet sanded the whole car in a very detailed manner, and in an effort to get it looking as best as possible. After wet sanding was buffing, polishing, waxing, and further detailing. The result was excellent causing the finish to be even smoother, even glossier, and looking to have more depth. The finish is impressive. It is proper in quality for an exotic car. Its quality and tint matches on all panels. Absent are amateur painter issues like orange peel, masking lines, overspray, fish eyes, cracking, etc. The “worst” area of aging on the finish is the hood has some small pimple-like spots that are only noticeable with the correct lighting. They are not extensive enough to show up in the photos or video, are limited to some parts of the hood area, and do not distract from the presentation of the car. Also, as to be expected on Lotuses and fiberglass cars, there are a few minor fiberglass stress lines here and there. These are NOT over the whole car, are NOT on every panel, and do not distract from the car. For example, there are a few tiny ones in the top surface of the spoiler, a couple on the “A” pillar, etc. My father was an automotive painter for 40+ years, he and I had restored a couple classic sports cars together, all which have caused me to be quite anal about paint. There are numerous panels and broad areas on the car that are essentially perfect. For example the fenders, doors, rear quarters/sail panels, rear bumper, etc. are all close to perfect. The pearlescent white has a metallic type look to it and changes in shade pending the light and angle. To summarize the condition of the finish, one generally has to seek out wear and aging with putting their nose up to the car. The finish is in impressive condition and essentially looks perfect from 5 feet away.

The remainder of the exterior of this Esprit is excellent and above what would be expected for the age and mileage. The wheels are in very nice shape. I removed each one and detailed them by hand with compound and polish. Lacking is curb rash, flaking, or other significant issues. The “Lotus” center caps are new. The tail light lenses were polished and are in excellent shape. The glass throughout is in great shape. In March of 2023 I had the windshield molding professionally redone so it would look better, and the rear quarter windows redone as well. A common wear spot on the Esprits is the rear quarter window paint flakes off causing them to to need to be resealed. I professionally had the rear quarter windows repainted, resealed, and the plastic trim piece that goes at the front of them is new. New carpet was installed on the panels behind the rear quarter windows. The door jambs, hatch and hood jambs, body lines, and other areas were extensively detailed. The removable glass top is in excellent shape. The additional color matching painted top is also in great condition and a storage bag is present.

If someone is looking for a super presentable Esprit to drive, this Esprit should more than meet their needs. It looks as good as it does in the photos and videos. The exterior condition is impressive which in addition to the exotic styling causes it to be quite the attention grabbing vehicle.

Interior:

The Esprit interior is a comfortable place to be. Its surfaces are completely covered with leather offering a luxurious and exotic type of feel. The seating position feels low, but yet comfortable, which helps make riding in it feel like a special event. The blue color contrasts very nicely with the white exterior. Condition wise it is about what you would expect for a 32 year old vehicle with mileage. It presents well showing some typical use. Enjoy it as it is or do a few things to take it up to the next level. The seats are comfortable and the adjustment features work properly. The driver side as expected shows some more signs of use like by the bolster. It is not excessive and not nasty. Some extra treatment would help spruce it up. The passenger seat is in very nice shape with only some minor spots of wear showing. The driver door panel has a few spots that could be redone in the blue but otherwise is in very nice shape with the passenger side being excellent. The leather on the dash is in great shape. The shifter boot has dried a bit and could use replacement. The remaining leather on the center console and visors is very good. The steering wheel is the way better looking actual “Lotus” steering wheel (not the ugly GM one) and has an airbag. These wood veneer dashboards are known for cracking and flaking. I personally restored this dash with re-veneering it and putting 8 coats of gloss on it. It turned out very nice and is very close looking to the original. The carpet throughout is good showing some minor aging. The floormats are new. Absent are odd smells, evidence of smoking, animal poo, signs of abuse, etc.

To summarize, the interior is in overall presentable condition and shows some typical use for the age and mileage. I have just personally detailed it and it is good to go.

Mechanical:

This Esprit Turbo is a get-in-and-drive car. It starts up very easily every time and settles into a smooth proper idle. It has proper oil pressure. The coolant runs at a proper temperature and never overheats. There are no leaks of fluids on the ground. The oil and oil filter were just changed less than 100 miles ago in April 2023. The engine does not blow any smoke out the back and does NOT show any evidence of issues. The engine goes through the RPM range properly. The turbo spools properly. The car feels strong and sounds excellent. The 1991 year (introduced in 1990) has the better computer management system and a water cooled intercooler resulting in factory output being 264 horsepower over the 215’ish of earlier years. A significant upgrade on this Esprit is the addition of an electrical intercooler pump instead of the mechanical one that often fails. I have installed a “high torque” computer chip that results in power delivery being upgraded to the Esprit S4S levels (285’ish hp) and offering more torque down low as well. The result is the car feeling much more lively, having much more torque in lower RPM, and being even more fun. The performance is pretty impressive considering it is a four cylinder from 1991. The sounds it makes are lovely which can be heard in the driving footage. If the next owner prefers I can install the stock chip back in. Another nice upgrade is the addition of the “green dot” cam sprocket. These sprockets put the timing to European specs resulting in smoother running and a bit more throttle response down low. The timing belt I was told was replaced around three years ago as well as the waterpump service. The belt looks perfectly fine visually. There are no odd noises at all from the engine. The waterpump does not leak and as stated there are not other leaks. Cosmetically I did some brief dusting and cleaning in the engine bay but one could spend more time in there making it prettier if they wanted. The red powdercoating has some typical flaking. I replaced a couple misc hoses and other odds and ends.

The transmission on this Esprit is excellent. It shifts precisely. It does NOT pop out of gear, absolutely NO grinding, absolutely no issues to note. The clutch feels great and does not slip under load. Reverse works properly. When going in reverse the head unit turns on and is connected to a backup camera which is helpful. The problematic stock clutch hose has been replaced. The rest of the drivetrain looks to be in good health with no odd noises, no visual issues, etc. The braking system works as it should and has plenty of pad life left (as shown in the video towards the end). Suspension and other underbody components are in great functioning shape with nothing seeming to need attention. Lotuses are known for having excellent handling while also being quite compliant and comfortable and this is true for this Esprit Turbo. The steering is direct and feels excellent. The gauges are all working. The headlights are working. The windows work properly. A/C blows cold. All of the tires have lots of tread left. The rear tires do have some checking due to age so if one is planning to do sporting driving they will probably want to replace those.

In conclusion, this Esprit Turbo is extremely well sorted mechanically for a classic exotic and is ready to be enjoyed as is.

Conclusion

1990’s Esprit Turbos are impressive exotic sports cars. They offer an incredible value. Porsche, Ferrari, and other marques of the same era tend to cost more than double but not necessarily offer double the experience. Looks wise there is arguably not a more exotic looking car for the money. Acceleration performance wise the Esprit Turbo punches way above what would be expected of it and still offers plenty of performance for spirited street driving. The handling on these Lotuses is one of the most impressive aspects with the mid-engine layout causing quick turn in, excellent road holding, but yet comfortable tuned damping. The Lotus built 2.2L turbo four cylinder is a rock solid and dependable engine. These cars are more reliable than one might think. When parts are needed there are some great sources like JAE and Lotus by Claudius. There are plenty of Facebook groups, forums, and other knowledge bases for the do-it-yourself kind of enthusiasts. It is difficult to understate how uncommon these cars are. In four years 1,600 Esprit Turbo SEs were produced averaging to about 400 built per year (For comparison, 66,000+ 911 964 were produced and 9,000’ish Ferrari 348 were produced)! These Esprits are excellent cars and coffee cars.

This specific Esprit Turbo checks so many of the boxes. The two main ones being an absolutely beautiful condition exterior and being sorted very well mechanically. I would not hesitate to fly in and drive this car back home. This example is ready to be enjoyed exactly as it is or do a few minor things to bring it up to an even higher level. Buy with confidence and let me know of any questions. I have tried to set the asking price fairly. If you feel the asking price is not fair for this example, submit an offer that you feel is fair.

This Esprit is located at my residence in Sussex, WI, 53089 USA. I do not mind working with out of state and out of country buyers. I do not mind if you need the Esprit shipped. I can help recommend transport companies and pending the distance could deliver the car myself for a fee. I prefer wire transfer as the payment but could also consider cashier’s/bank check or other methods.

Thanks for checking out this Esprit and surviving the thorough info.

Regards,

Shane

262.391.1069

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