Wedgie: ’89 Lotus Esprit Turbo
Giorgetto Giugiaro designed the Esprit but by the late 80s, it looked dated. In-house designer, Peter Stevens, freshened the Esprit in late 1987. This new “Stevens” Esprit Turbo was available in the U.S. starting with the 1988 model year. Mechanically, the car was identical to the previous year, with a 2.2-liter turbocharged I-4 making 215 hp in U.S. trim. These Esprits have depreciated to the point that some have attracted owners who don’t always follow the necessary maintenance routine. This era Esprit represents fantastic performance with a sub-5-second 0-60 in a relatively inexpensive supercar. But you need to be careful if you want it to be a good experience and not a nightmare. Today’s featured Esprit might be the one to go for. It has 9,200 original miles but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t have maintenance records. This one had a major service 2 years ago and traveled only 1,000 miles. That might sound good to some but we think there should be a record for a few oil changes since then. Miles driven isn’t the only measure. This is a near perfect example finished in Bright Red with Charcoal interior with red piping. The original spare has never been out of the car! The good part about low mileage cars is not only the cosmetics but the way the car feels going down the road. The seller tells us it is tight and fast! Hagerty says perfect examples should be valued around $30,000. Because of the time-warp condition, a Lotus collector may pay more. That is a lot of car for the money. Click here for the listing.