The Esprit was developed from a showcar on a Europa chassis, with a body styled by Giorgetto Giugario.
The production Esprit made its debut at the 1975 Paris Motorshow, though production didn't start until mid 1976.
The engine used initially was the 1973cc unit from the Elite and Eclat, with a 5-speed gearbox, steel backbone chassis and disc brakes.
Late 1977 saw the Esprit developed into Series 2 form with detail exterior changes.
1977 also saw the Esprit's big screen debut as James Bond's company car in The Spy Who Loved Me.
Strangely, this option was never offered by Lotus.
1980 was a significant year for the Esprit, with the car gaining the more powerful 2174cc engine, which answered some of the performance questions.
1980 also saw the launch of the Series 3 Esprit. The Noise and Vibration problems were cured and the price was reduced, which greatly improved sales.
The Turbo was initially only available in ESSEX Petroleum colours (A Team Lotus sponsor at the time) and with an expensive stereo system, but after 100 or so Turbos had been built, a full colour range was available, along with less standard equipment, resulting in a list price drop from �20,950 to under �17,000 which improved sales no end.
The final development of the original Esprit came in 1987 with the introduction of a High Compression (HC) Turbo engine with improved power delivery.
But by the end of 1987 a new Esprit had been introduced.
The design made such an impact that Lotus decided to put the car into production and complete their trio of new designs for the mid 70's.
Series 1 models despite all their advances had high cockpit noise levels, poor ventilation, a poor gearchange and relatively ordinary performance.
The white Series 1 Esprit had an array of gadgets including the capability to change into a 2-man submarine.
Even more important was the introduction of the Turbo Esprit, with 210bhp, the Esprit now had 150mph+ performance.
The chassis had been redesigned to cope with the extra power, giving even greater handling than before.
Slight body changes were made to the Turbo, consisting of Flared wheel arches, to accomodate wider tyres, Slats in place of the rear window, Side Air Intakes and a Body Kit and Rear Spoiler to aid aerodynamics.
