© Adrian Mugridge (2018)
Lotus Esprit GT3
Finally getting more modern
Lotus
only
made
a
few
GT3s,
between
1996
and
1999,
mainly
in
orange,
yellow,
blue
and
silver.
The
GT3
graphics
were
an
option,
as
were
leather
seats and A/C. Mine has the graphics but not the A/C or leather.
Engine
The
car
has
a
2.0
litre
turbo
engine
with
a
charge-cooler
(this
is
what
Lotus
call an inter-cooler) and delivers 240 bhp with 210 lb/ft of torque.
0-60
is
in
about
5
seconds
(depends
which
car
magazine
you
read)
and
the
top end is 164 mph.
Lots of miles
My
model
was
a
1997
which
I
bought
with
only
4700
miles
on
it,
being
less
than
a
year
old.
It
came
from
Christopher
Neil
Limited
in
Northwich,
Cheshire.
For
almost
all
the
time
I
had
it
I
used
it
as
my
daily
transport,
so
when
I
finally
sold
it
I’d
done
65000
miles
over
6
years.
It
was
fairly
reliable,
but it did end up on the back of a low loader 3 or 4 times as I recall.
Very bright
The
colour
is
called
Chrome
Orange
and
as
you
can
see
the
interior
is
all
black
apart
from
the
backs
of
the
body
hugging
seats
(no
rake
adjustment,
only forwards and back) and around the gear stick.
Knob
The
brushed
aluminium
gear
knob
looks
great
but
has
a
major
disadvantage;
it’s
very
susceptible
to
the
temperature.
In
summer,
leave
it
direct
sunlight
and
it
will
burn
your
hand
off
and
in
the
winter
it
feels
like
a
block of ice on a cold morning.
Another wing
Just
as
I
added
a
rear
wing
to
my
Turbo,
so
I
added
a
wing
to
this
one.
I
think it really finishes the car off (I should have done it when I bought it).
Classics magazine
My
car
was
used
for
an
article
in
Classics
magazine
not
that
long
before
I
sold it. The pictures were taken by them for the magazine.