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Esprit Games
Computer Games featuring the Lotus Esprit

The Esprit has been around for over two decades and has featured in a few computer games. Tempting little boys in to dreaming of having an Esprit of their own. Never very good (in my opinion) but still addictive to Esprit enthusiast. Just seeing an Esprit is always a site, even if it is on you PC.

Gran Turismo: 5
Features a Lotus Esprit V8

Since You don't have a good quality pictures of Esprit in Gran Tourismo 5 I'm sending few photos of my two Esprit's taken in photo mode of GT5. They are a bit better quality then screen shots taken in normal driving game(although most of them are taken during the replay of driving game, 3 are taken in special scenes), because some effects are only available in photo mode(lights looks definitely better then in normal game).

Body of the car is really well made, and driving it in the game it's quite fun :) But I still don't get it why they don't make in any modern game a Sport 300 or Turbo SE Esprit as they are my favorite and it could be nice to drive them in such good game as GT5 :)

I hope that my pictures are useful

Regards Maciej Kwiatkowski

      


Turbo Esprit on iphone
Classic ZX Spectrum Gaming Comes To iPhone In ‘ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection’

ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection is a new ZX Spectrum gamer for the iPhone that’s made its way in to the App Store today. The application features 6 full games, each with game-specific controls, and it’s only $0.99 (£0.59)

The six games included in the first release are:

Turbo Esprit #3 on top 100 best games, voted for by visitors to World of Spectrum
Saboteur #10 on top 100 best games
Chuckie Egg the classic, developed by Nigel Alderton
Harrier Attack inspired by the conflict in the South Atlantic
Frank Bruno’s Boxing the UK #1 Best-Seller
Buggy Boy the arcade original driving game
Each game is 100% original, and is accompanied by authentic Spectrum sounds. There are extensive playing instructions for each game built-in, and you can play in both portrait and landscape modes.

Elite Systems, the developer of ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection, has explained in the description of its app that volume one is still a little rough around the edges, and that any issues you may experienced will be ironed out in future updates. Some of its plans for future updates include a further six games with volume 2, which will be released within a month, and then an in-app shop to purchase more games with volume 3. And Elite’s plans don’t stop there:

Commercial agreements have already been reached with two more publishers (including one of the 80s biggest) taking to more than 200 the number of games available for inclusion in the forthcoming updates or volumes of ZX Spectrum: Elite Collection. (This will keep us busy through to Vol. #6 and beyond). Also, we’re in discussion with the owners of 100s more, including some of the most well known, with the aim of bringing them to you too.


Gran Turismo: 5
Features a Lotus Esprit V8 on PS3

Lotus Esprit V8 is set to appear in the 'not so soon to be released' (Dec 2010) PlayStation 3 game, Gran Turismo 5. Nice to see a car that's not been made for 6 years now is still getting some face time. Should get a few more shots closer to the release date of the game.


Forza2 on Xbox 360
Features a Lotus Esprit V8

Forza Motorsport 2 speeds its way onto Xbox 360. With authentic simulation physics, bone-jarring damage, photo-realistic graphics, and licensed tuning and customisation options, the franchise improves on the unprecedented features gamers enjoyed in its debut installment. Loaded with more than 300 of the world's hottest cars for you to collect, personalise and tune, Forza Motorsport 2 gives you a complete racing experience.

an interesting feature in the game is to enable player to do custom artwork on the car body.


Gran Turismo 4
Playstation 2

Featuring authentic racing gameplay but now offering - more cars, more courses & more race modes

Gran Turismo 4 uses an all-new physics engine coupled with revolutionary technology to deliver enhanced, if not perfected, game physics and graphics providing a near-realistic automotive racing simulation.

The characteristics of the cars are realistically designed and calculated so that they handle to the real-life physics of that particular vehicle, taking into account weight, speed, friction, wind, and more. New technology blends real-time action with a photo-fixed background to immerse the player in real-life environments such as New York City, the Grand Canyon and others. Highly detailed vehicles and environment mapping create broadcast-quality graphics, from light and competitor car reflections on the player's automobile to leaves on a tree shaking in the wind.

Players will have the opportunity to race in an enhanced arcade and simulation mode based upon similar game mechanics from Gran Turismo 3 A-spec. In both modes, players will have access to experience more than 500 authentic automobiles encompassing manufacturers from around the world, with a range from vintage to modern vehicles. Courses include existing closed racing circuits to specially designed city courses, reaching a total of up to 100 tracks.


Test Drive

Test Drive has been seen on many platforms over many years with many versions. The Esprit has appear in quite a few of them. Here's some screen shots we've found.

TEST DRIVE UNLIMITED (by ATARI) for XBOX 360

Test Drive on Playstation 2 from 2001.

  

 

Test Drive II the collection (1990)

Test Drive II Car Disk: The Supercars (1989)

Test Drive (1987)

  
 


Project Gotham Racing

This X-Box game features some of the best cars ever built (plus a few others). The Esprit is featured, but not very well. It's been placed in the Grand Tourers group with cars like the Bentley Continental GT, Ferrari 550 and Mercedes SL55 (full list below). If that isn't bad enough, look at the stats below. Apparently the Aston Martin Vanquish handles better than the Esprit. Now I've never driven an Aston, but I doubt they're every built a car that handles better than the Esprit!

  

We've used our digital camera to take a few pictures (waiting for Bill Gates lawers to knock on the door) to show you the Esprit. Brilliant graphics and looks just like the V8. You can chose from loads of different colours.

 

I don't want to rate the game as I'm not a fan of driving games (never matches the really thing). But I can tell you the graphics are good and the array of cars is fantasic.

This image is from Project Gotham Racing 4 on Xbox 360


for the Amiga

This is the game that introduced Steve 'Unity' Wright to the Stevens Esprit. Graphics are a little blocky by today's standards, but it's definately an Esprit.

  

Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge
This was released in 1990 on the Commodore Amiga 500. Programmed by Magnetic fields and Gremlin, it was cutting edge at it's time and was the game that inspired my love for the Esprit, (I was born in 82 hence too young to remember the early Bonds). As you can see from the shots, the model used is the Turbo SE.


Lotus Turbo Challenge II
Released in 1991 as the much waited for sequel. The Esprit was dropped from the name as the game now also featured the elan SE. Gameplay was pretty much the same as the original, old school outrun style with a fixed car and a moving track. Not as fun as the original because you can't choose to race the esprit it just does on certain tracks and the elan on others.

     

  


 

Lotus III - The Ultimate Challenge
The final game in the trilogy was released in 1992. Again it was pretty much more of the same featuring the elan and the esprit and newly for this game, the M200. Also featured in this version was a track constructor that allowed new courses to be generated at random by seting the percentage features you wanted (ie hills, curves etc). You could also choose the car you wanted to race (always an esprit of course).

  

  

Words by Ben Buckley


Grand Turismo3 for Playstation2

Just a few details about the game from a Lotus point of view as a complete review is available on the net.

  

I bought this game a couple of years ago after owning both GT1 and GT2 on the original Playstation platform. The GT2 game includes a number of Lotus cars including a 1960s Elan S2, an Elise 190 and a very sexy looking Esprit GT1 in black with racing decals. The only problem with the GT series is you have to gain credits by winning races in slower saloon cars before you can afford to buy a Lotus! Also looking at GT1/GT2 now on my PS2 the graphics are very blocky, the GT3 Game looks brilliant even on a big screen with lots of detail including things like waving flags and lighting effects.

  

The best thing to do with GT3 is to buy the cheat disc if you can find it from a games shop. This enables you to have zillions of credits to buy Esprits from the Lotus shop. There is even a Sport300 in silver up for grabs. If you are really obsessed you can by a V8 in all of the 12 official Lotus colours! There are also various types of Elise available.

  

With the credits you have over you can go to the Wheel shop for a new set of alloys, or maybe buy yourself a bigger turbo and lower the suspension. Then it’s of the many circuits to test out you modifications….. Deep Forest, Apricot Hill, Laguna Seca, and the Seattle circuit are some of the best. You can even go to the carwash if you think your virtual baby is looking dusty!

Thanks to Howard Bartrop for supplying these images and report.


Turbo Esprit
by Mike Richardson
FOR SPECTRUM 48K
DURELL SOFTWARE 1985

Mission Brief
An armoured supply car is carrying drugs to the centre of the city. One after the other, four delivery cars will drive in to meet it, and then drive off to their hide-aways. After the fourth pick-up the armoured supply car will leave the city. Your misson is to stop and delivery cars after they have made their pick-ups and before they disappear in their hide-aways, and to stop the armoured supply car after it has passed its drugs to the last car and before it leaves the city. You will score extra points for catching the drug smugglers alive, rather than shooting them. Your vehicle will be a Lotus Turbo Esprit capable of driving at 150mph. You will lose points for injuring the general public. There are traffic lights at junctions which should be obeyed (though the smugglers will probably ignore them), there ae pedestrian crossings where people will have the right to cross, and there are road-works that you should avoid. Drive will. Drive carefully.

In 1985 I was 13 years old, and paid £8.95 (a lot!) for this game on tape. Some years later I found the inlay card (minus tape) at my folks, the computer was long dead and I thought I’d never play it again... However, I managed to find a ‘spectrum emulator’ to run on my PC, got a copy of the game and….

 

They say you should never go back, but this was a magic moment for me! The game itself is very basic but still quite playable. You are a police agent with a 1985 (brand new at the time!) Lotus Turbo Esprit, fitted with machine guns. You drive the city streets looking for drug smugglers, these can be identified by having Blue, Red or magenta cars ( your car and all others are black).

  

You can check the position of both yourself and the baddies by going to a ‘Map’ screen.

 

You can shoot all the cars on the screen, so my tactic is to stick to one lane mostly and shoot anyone that gets in my way, ok, not very public spirited but fun! Turning is an art because the L & R keys that you change lanes with, also let you turn corners providing you fire at the same time. This means if you’re shooting at a bad guy, you need to remember to stop shooting to change lanes, otherwise you will turn onto the sidewalk and crash!

  

The only real clue that its an Esprit based game (apart from the tiny car on screen) is the dash, which someone has obviously paid a lot of attention to. The speedo shows 180mph, but car will only reach the quoted top speed of 150mph, revs go to 6500rpm. As befitting a Lotus, there are garages you can stop at for repairs on route, Did the programmer know something about Esprits or what?

PAUL C


Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge

This game was for the Sinclair Spectrum 48/128k +2. Don't really know any more about it. If you do, email LEW so this page can be added to.

  

  


I just wanted to point out that you seem to have missed the 1987 classic "Test Drive" by Accolade. It featured five cars, including a Lotus Turbo Esprit. In the followup "Test Drive II - The Duel" a 1988 Lotus Turbo Esprit is available in the add-on disk "The Supercars".


Test Drive
by Accolade

I just wanted to point out that you seem to have missed the 1987 classic "Test Drive" by Accolade.
It featured five cars, including a Lotus Turbo Esprit.

In the followup "Test Drive II - The Duel" a 1988 Lotus Turbo Esprit is available in the add-on disk "/The Supercars/".

You seem to have "Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge" covered both for the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and Amiga.
It was also available for Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC.

Some links:
http://www.worldofspectrum.org
http://www.lemon64.com/?game_id=1548
http://www.cpczone.net/index.php?game=1408
http://www.lemonamiga.com/?game_id=701

" Turbo Esprit" was also available for Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC.

Some links:
http://www.worldofspectrum.org
http://www.lemon64.com/?game_id=2724
http://www.cpczone.net/index.php?game=931

best regards,
Staffan V


Unfortunately no info on this one!

 


Facebook Racing Game?
Esprit in online game, we think!
In Round 5 of The Sunday Cup at Bathurst, Weescotman started on pole position in the Esprit Turbo HC and built up a tremendous lead until a spin on lap 17 cost him the win. Capt_D took the lead from the pits, which he maintained to the chequered flag, increasing his championship lead over Weescotman. SokaGT came in second after dropping back in the early stages of the race, and Ade3210 was denied a place on the podium, by Theewar on the final lap.

Sunday's podium from Race 5 at Bathurst (24 laps):
1st: GTP_CAPT_D, 53:22.879
2nd: SOCAGT-RACER, 53:51.279
3rd: THEEWAR, 53:58.230

Next stop is Nurburgring GP on April 13th.


Twitter
Esprit Games, December 2014
Twitter has become a great source for Esprit related stuff and here's a couple of screen captures of Esprit games.


Three dudes making a video game about cool cars and going sideways.

Code - Chase Pettit
Art - Charles Blanchard
Music - Hugh Myrone
www.driftstagegame.com
contact@driftstagegame.com

Drift Stage is live on Kickstarter with a new trailer! Please help us make Drift Stage a reality!

Video: Drift Stage - Time Trial - 60 FPS 720p http://driftstage.tumblr.com/post/103236585656/drift-stage-time-trial-60-fps-720p

     


Update April 2015

"Midtown Madness 3" – Digital Illusions CE

 

Featuring a Lotus Esprit V8

"Test Drive Unlimited 2" Eden Games

 

"Forza Motorsport 4" – Turn 10 Studios

This one featured not only one, but two Esprit's! The Turbo and the V8

"Forza Motorsport 5" – Turn 10 Studios

This one featured a Lotus Esprit V8 as a DLC add-on

"Forza Horizon 2" – Turn 10 Studios

This one featured yet again, a Lotus Esprit V8 as a free DLC add-on


Police Esprit from GTA Vice City

   


Lotus Turbo Challenge 2
YouTube Video: Amigos Amiga Podcast
Subscribe to the Amigos Podcast at http://amigospodcast.com !!

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GT6 : Special Projects – Lotus Esprit GT1 Replica Build
YouTube Video: HammerStudiosGaming :::
Another Special Projects tune for you guys, and this time its a 575PP replica(ish) build of the Lotus Esprit GT1 race car...

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The 90's Race Part 1 – Forza Horizon 3
Corvette ZR1 vs Lotus Esprit V8 vs Ferrari F355
Computer Games get more and more realistic±. Published on Nov 18, 2016.

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James Bond Lotus Esprit drive on water GTA V
Published on Dec 23, 2016
i showed this one earlier for 5 seconds but i thought i'd do a seperate video, it's a fun mod i replaced the technical equa with a lotus esprit so now it drives on water, this video was made for the james bond theme song.

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Espritfarhten
1980 Lotus Esprit Turbo 8:13:758, Published on 25 Jan 2017
Good car. A little too good? Perhaps. Pretty though. Ran an 8:13:758. I reckon I could shave a few seconds off that, but not enough to beat the Camaro's 8:00:339.

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GT4
White Giugiaro Espirt in GT4
Managed to caputre these screen shots of a white Giugiaro Esprit from GT4.

  

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Test Drive Unlimited
Gamesfetch
Test Drive Unlimited - Lotus Esprit - V8 / S3

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Test Drive Unlimited 1 - 00:09 - Lotus Esprit V8
Test Drive Unlimited 2 - 2:45 - Lotus Esprit S3D.

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Lotus -Esprit Turbo Challenge- (Amiga)
I Had A Game – Published on Mar 24, 2019

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Need For Speed: No Limits

Lotus Esprit V8 Sport 350
Kris & Heidi back at it with another Breakout, this time it involves a cop radio scanner. Help them evade the cops and win the 1999 Lotus Esprit V8 Sport 350 in Need For Speed No Limits.

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If you have any computer games featuring the Esprit, please send details in to: admin@lotusespritworld.com

 

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