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This one-time Japanese import looks like a safe bet in the whacky world of Eighties supercars, says Sam Dawson
This HC sits in sweet spot so far as Lotus Esprits are concerned. Available for just one year – 1987 – it was the final iteration of the sharp-edged Giorgetto Giugiaro-authored shape. The early cars’ flaws had supposedly been ironed out, it has a galvanised chassis, and a high-compression, unleaded-friendly engine. Accelerating 0-60mph in 5.3 seconds and reaching 150mph is Ferrari Testarossa territory. But you can’t get one of those for £60k.
Determining the early history of this Esprit is tricky unless you speak Japanese. Originally supplied to Japan, it has a thorough-looking early history but it’s all in Japanese. It came to the UK in the late Nineties, with its odometer replaced in 1999 – possibly so it could now clock up miles rather than kilometers. It had then done 36,000 miles according to specialist Vincent Miller, who also overhauled its engine after buying it from a customer in 2001. It’s done 11,800 miles on its new odometer, backed up by continuous MoT certificates. The current total mileage is believed to be around 47,800.
The turn of the Millennium saw a lot of work. Benchsound rebuilt the engine in 2000 at a cost of £1568, whereafter Miller poured £4500 into it, his work accompanied by a photo casebook. But for the last 23 years, it’s had an uneventful life of sparing use and straightforward regular maintenance.
Bodily, it’s still in good, unrestored, lightly-used condition. Only some minor cracks in the paint on the rear bumper detract, plus there are some stonechips on the spoilers, and one hand-sized patch of microblistering in the paint on the trailing edge of the rear hatch. The chassis on these Esprits were hot-dip zinc galvanised and well-protected within the glassfibre bodyshell, so rust isn’t usually an issue and we couldn’t see any sign of corrosion underneath the car.
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