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Mitch Knox's 1990

Mitch Knox from England, owns a 1990 SE in Black with a Black Interior.

Model:

SE
Year: 1990
Colour: Black
Interior: Black
Driving Style: Hard
Miles per year: 5,000
Owned Since: 1998
Purchase from: unauthorised dealer in Canterbury
Serviced at:  
Other Cars: Landrover Discovery 3.9litre used for offroading and taking kids to school
MR2 to remind me what a great car the Esprit is
Citroen Van to go shopping in.
Previous Lotus': None
Why an Esprit: Not only is it beautiful...the Esprit is a drivers car, not many around-Porche make more cars a month than Lotus has made Esprits in 25 years. My esprit has no ABS, no power steering, no airbags, no traction control, no driver aids, just 4 wheels and a rocket up the backside......... pure joy!!!!!
when driving it hard it's a case of 'will it or won't it make it?'
Upgrades: None unless you include an alarm, navigation system and 6 cd
autochanger.
Problems: Yes, many...the Esprit was 8 years old when i bought it....had only done 8000 miles. everything had stiffened up....as soon as i drove it as it was designed to be driven i broke the throttle cable..then broke the turbo...then the cam belt...then the water cooler pump bracket....then the brake fluid tube...then the turbo again. The latest problem was the gear bearing. Estimated repair bill to date....£9000.....worth every penny.
Info:  

My biggest mistake with the car was to have adjustments made to give it a boost of 1 bar...this increased the bhp to 300 and 0-60 to 3.6 seconds. The new turbo shattered and the gearbox all but failed. I have replaced the turbo and gearbox.My Esprit is black with black leather trim, it sits outside all the time both summer and winter and still has it's original paint. there are very few signs of it's age except where stone chips to the front have been covered by Chipsaway.

The leather seats have stood the test of time and due to much love have not cracked or discloured. Effectively, i have seen 3 year Esprit in far worse shape than mine will hopefully ever be.

I'm not sure if the government fuel ecconomy stats are right...i get about 8-10 mpg but that's probably the way i drive.....what's the point of having a turbo if you ain't going to use it?

Fun for me is not how fast the car can go .it's how quickly it gets to that speed. I just love the feel of the turbo kicking it and the uncertancy of
what will happen. It's not a car to relax in....you need 2 hands on the wheel...total concentration and faith in God.

Would i sell the car?.....i'd sell the wife first!...however everything has a price and my price would be too high.

Lotusturbo@hotmail.com

 
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