If you have some Esprit News

June 2009

2010 Calendar Pictures
Time to enter your Esprit for next year calendar
With the good weather upon us in the UK, it's time to get out your camera and get a good picture for entry into the lottery that is Lotus Esprit World's Official Calendar 2010. Please email you hi-res pictures to admin@lotusespritworld.com (remember to set your camera to it's highest settings for size and resolution). You're got until the end of September to get your Esprit in the 2010 Official Lotus Esprit World Calendar! We look forward to seeing some great Esprit shots.

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ESPRITism is BACK
LEW welcomes back Esprit parts supplier
After a long break, while working overseas, ESPRITism.com are back in business. ESPRITism provide used and selected new and service parts for all Esprits from 1988 onwards (occasionally earlier parts as well). Take a look at the special offers they have on for June in the parts for sale page and also visit their web site at www.ESPRITism.com. Their famous gear shift improvement kits are now available again along with a host of other parts.

ESPRITism are always looking to expand stock and are VERY interested in hearing from anyone with parts, or an Esprit they no longer want (preferably an Esprit that has seen better days). Cash awaits, so if you have something that could be of interest please drop them a line at espritparts@espritism.com

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Lotus Esprit World gets on Twitter
@EspritWorld
A little late on the bandwagon, but Lotus Esprit World is now twittering on www.twitter.com. We'll be updating our twitter account with what's going on with LEW, updates hitting the site, some stuff we talking about or working on and some bits you won't see on the site (but not much ;-)) . So if you want to follow us, our twitter is Espritworld. Should be fun while it's cool!

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Supercar Sunday
Heritage Motor Centre –– Sunday 28th June 2009
This year's Supercar Sunday is yet again powering up to be a fantastic day out for all supercar fans, with not only some of the World's top supercars in attendance but also the much anticipated introduction of a brand new superbike feature. Supercar Sunday is one of the rare shows where you can get up close to some spectacular cars, including Lamborghinis and Porsches, and this year's largest gathering of Honda NSXs.

In addition to supercars there will be live music and entertainment, a supercar cavalcade and a whole host of fun activities for the whole family, details here.

Heritage Motor Centre
Banbury Road
Gaydon
Warwickshire
CV35 0BJ

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LotusFestival
Snetterton - Sunday 14th June 2009
Another good day out for all Esprit owner this summer is the Lotus Festival at Snetterton. Plenty going on. See here for more details.

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May 2009

ClubLotus Track Day
Castle Combe, 23rd May 2009
Our popular Club Track Day at Castle Combe is on Saturday May 23rd. This is your chance to drive on a fabulously fast and flowing circuit with other Lotus enthusiasts where driving standards are high and there’s no loonies in Impreza’s to take you out.

Track driving packages are £84 which guarantees you a minimum of two 15 minute sessions on the exhilarating 1.85 mile Wiltshire track. The track opens at 9am and when the guaranteed sessions are finished – usually by mid-afternoon – you’re free to go out again as often as you like until the track closes at 5pm.

Passengers are welcome and you can also share your car with another driver at no extra charge. As usual there is free instruction available from the regular ARDS qualified Castle Combe instructors. The day is run by the Castle Combe Racing Drivers School to MSA regulations and there is of course full marshalling and paramedics in attendance. Only Lotus cars are allowed on track and good driving standards and safety are our prime aim. All drivers receive a full circuit briefing before going out and helmet hire is free (against a fully refundable deposit) if you don’t have your own. All cars must comply with the circuit noise limit of 100dB and run on road tyres.

Spectator entry is free and Castle Combe has excellent facilities as well as being in a beautiful part of the country so why not come along and make a weekend of it. All visitors who arrive in a Lotus can take part in the free track parade at lunchtime and there will also be a historic Lotus display and track demonstration during the day.

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April 2009

Vegas V8
LEW Spots Esprits on Hols
Taking a cab from New York New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, we spotted a Black V8 parked up outside. It was still there in the evening and we eventually popped out the next day with a camera to see if it was still there. Luckily it was, so we snapped a few pictures. Anyone owning up to parking it up there? Nice to see an Esprit outside a big casino, still mixing it with the Lambo's, Ferrari's, Aston's and Bentleys.

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March 2009

Club Lotus Donington Festival
Donington Park April 18th – 19th 2009
Our 2009 Club Lotus Show and Festival at Donington Park over the weekend of April 18/19 is just over three weeks away but there’s still time to book your advance member tickets for only £8 and save £1 on the regular entry price.

It’s easy to book - either send a cheque to us at Club HQ, 58 Malthouse Court, Dereham, Norfolk, NR20 4UA or call 01362 694459/691144 with your credit or debit card and we’ll do the rest.

This year the show has many new features including live practical demonstrations run by some of the most experienced people in the business - Nick Fulcher on trim, Spyder Engineering on chassis, CTM Performance on engine rebuilding and Option One on glassfibre repair and paint.

You can demonstrate your driving skills on the Ayrton Senna JPS Formula 1 race simulator and also on the free Lotus-on-Track Elise race simulator.

Classic Team Lotus will be there with several of their priceless historic cars including the beautiful and revolutionary ground effect Type 79 F1 - the car that Mario Andretti used to win the 1978 F1 World Championship.

Lotus Cars will be bringing the fabulous new Evora plus one of the chassis used for crash testing which demonstrates how Evora passed the crash test for a frontal impact by a huge margin. The new Lotus Cars 2009 Roadshow will also be there.

There’s also racing on both days (admission extra) including the first 4 rounds of the 2009 Elise Trophy.

Lots to see and do and I look forward to meeting you there.

Best wishes,

Alan Morgan
Club Lotus

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February 2009

Adjustable rear links
from Ramspott and Brandt
Conversion kit for an adjustable rear upper link. The rear camber at all Esprit 88-93, Esprit S3, Excel and Elite/Eclat is not adjustable. With this conversion kit the adjustment of the rear camber is really very easy. The link adjuster have a LH and RH thread. It is only necessary to cut out a 6cm piece of the link and than weld the threaded sleeves into the ends of the link.

Price: 108.- € excl. VAT

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LEW's Birthday
LEW was first published on the Web on 14th Feb
We are celebrating Lotus Esprit World.com's birthday tomorrow (14th), as it was first put up on the web on Valentine's day back in 2001. Which makes the site 8 years old. Not bad for a little site with some info on only one of Lotus' many models.

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Drag Esprit or Esprit in Drag
For Sale on Ebay
Is it an Esprit! not much left from the 1984 Esprit it's said to come from. Engine is now a Small block Chevy 406 CID and it's in the front! Anyway take a look on ebay for more pictures and spec. See more here

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New V8 Exhaust
from Ramspott and Brandt
After 1 year of development in cooperation with our German producer, we are now proud to present a complete new designed sport silencer for your Esprit V8 with 80mm pipes.

This new stainless steel silencer is based on the well known parallel free flow system with a complete new designed sound absorber.
You will get a fantastic sound under acceleration, in keeping with the sporting image; it is a sound you never heard before from another Esprit V8 exhaust system. This exhaust sounds like a sports racer under load, but is quiet when cruising. The response characteristics and the power (approx. + 15 HP) will also be improved. Especially in combination with our V8 high flow metal catalysts you will get an impressive acoustics. A must be for every V8 driver.

Price: €1007 excl. VAT

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Not Esprit weather
London Feb 09
Britain isn't the best place to have an Esprit today. Roll on the summer.

If you have a snow covered Esprit, take a snap and send it to admin@lotusespritworld.com

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January 2009

Mid-Engined Icons
Performance Car Feb 09
Performance Car Magazine is out this month (Feb09) with a 23 page feature on Mid-Engined Icons. Included of course is the Esprit Sport 350, along with Lamborghini Diablo, Honda NSX, Ariel Atom, Ferrari F430, Audi R8 and more. It's at your news stands now! Price £4.

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A conversation with Mike Kimberley
www.lotus-central.com
An interivew with Lotus Top Man, Mike Kimberley. An interesting read on Lotus and it's future. Here.

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International Historic Grand Prix with Lotus Meeting 2009
Lausitzring 14.- 17. May 2009
We have managed it at long last - the location and the date for the JIM CLARK-REVIVAL 2009 has been fixed - the agreements have just been signed.

The JCR will take place in the familiar form - with the complete supporting programme such as the automobile club meeting, traders and exhibitors, JIM CLARK-REVIVAL Tourist Tour, Guinness world record attempt, free access for the spectactors to the drivers paddock and pits, etc. - on 14. - 17. May at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz (between Dresden and Berlin).

More details will be available on the website soon.

With sporting regards

Ronny and Siegfried

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!! ACHTUNG !! ATTENTION !! ACHTUNG !! ATTENTION !! (read above)
Jim Clark Revival Cancelled
Dear friends of the JIM CLARK-REVIVAL,
Today I have the sad duty to inform you that the International Historic Grand Prix, JIM CLARK-REVIVAL, cannot take place at the Hockenheimring in 2009.

Please find more information in the enclosed attachment: Cancellation JCR 2009 at the Hockenheimring.pdf

Please inform me of your opinion of this matter per email (info@jimclark-revival.com) or in our MessageBoard.

With sporting regards
Ronny G. Bredhauer, Chief Organiser JCR

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Is your V8 Cold inside?
Esprit V8 Heater info from Lotus Engineering
Just before Christmas Lotus had some trouble with the Heater performance on their 2002 V8. Just thought we would let you know what we found as it might benefit other owners.

The Heater performance had dropped significantly which really only showed up when the cold weather arrived. (Brian nearly froze on a trip to Newcastle when the outside temperature was down to nearly zero!). Lotus Engineering checked the basics (inc. water valve control & operation etc.) and thought they may have a partially blocked heater Matrix.

As this is about the worst job on an Esprit they decided to check more thoroughly before they decided to tackle this. They flow checked the heater system and confirmed that the matrix was clear and the water valve function was normal but the heater was struggling to generate any significant heat.

A thorough check of the system revealed that they had a defective Diverter Valve in the Cooling System. If this Valve is not switching the hot water can bypass the heater matrix. The valve internals were sticking and not allowing the Vacuum to fully switch the valve position

The Valve is Vacuum operated and was not switching 100%. (The vacuum signal was getting to the valve connector). Changing the valve cured the problem and now the heater is generating enough hot air to burn your legs! If any owners are experiencing poor heater performance we would advise them to check the Diverter Valve. The Valve and the Cooling Circuit are detailed in Section 18.05 of the Service Parts Book.

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Spy who Loved me kicks off the new year
2009 starts well with Bond in his Esprit on ITV
If you thought 2009 was going to be a bad year with the Credit Crunch biting even harder. ITV have given the Esprit World a good start. Showing the Spy Who Loved Me at 4.25pm today. Maybe a sign of things starting off well for 2009. Enjoy the classic and the reason most of us have an Esprit.

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December 2008

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Calendars for Xmas
Last posting date
If you're thinking of ordering a calendar for Xmas, please note the following last order dates for delivery before Xmas. This also goes for DVD's and anything else you may wish to order for Xmas.

Mainland UK: 19th December
Europe: 11th December
Outside Europe: 9th December

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GTO Racing
Contacting
If anyone is trying to contact Kevin from GTO Racing the number to use is 07985 609321 or email gtoracing2001@yahoo.co.uk.

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November 2008

2008 Classic Car Show
@ the NEC, 14th-16th November
Lotus Esprit Forum were selected to exhibit at this year's Classic Car Show at the NEC in Birmingham.

There was a 200 club over-subscription so LEF were really pleased to be picked and given the opportunity to show off the Esprit to the expected 50,000. This is without doubt the largest show in the year. It's high time the Esprit was displayed in a manner befitting it's status as one of the UK's finest supercars and to show the public how good these cars really are.

The event was a great success with Esprits on display and the stand up to 3 people deep at the height of the show. Well done to all those involved.

See and read more at the LEF here.

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Your Image on Canvas!
Perfect gift for Xmas

Get your Esprit on high quality canvas, stretched and sealed on a hand made 38mm wood frame, for amazing prices. You supply the picture of your choice and we make it into art!

FREE Post & Packaging for ClubEsprit Members
Please supply club membership number with order for discount

As Designer and Lecturer I have nearly always been discontented with the performance of computer printers. Modern art packages and digital cameras produce graphics work far superior to a printers capability. This has turned into somewhat of a mission for me. Size, quality and variety of media are all sadly lacking in desktop printers something more special is required.

My mission so far involves a designjet 3000CP capable of printing on a wide rage of media up to 54 inches wide by several feet long, Those who visited the M.L.O.C. stand at the Lotus 60th anniversary would have seen an example of my work. I can print from a wide range of images such as slides and film, both positive and negative and digital images, I can also scan older 35mm photographs etc. I mainly print on high quality (400 grms) canvas which I stretch on solid wood frames and seal making a very waterproof and sturdy finished article. Building my own frames allows me to cater for custom sizes. I have produced canvases up to 10 feet by 4 feet and as small as 12" square. One local church commissioned 4 huge canvases for display.

I can handle any of the more popular image formats such as GIF, TIFF and JPG's any others that would open with GIMP. I would need about 2500 pixels in width to get to A2, I reckon on 100 DPI for a decent print. Any picture used on any of the Official Lotus Esprit Calendars can be requested for reproduction. Please email for more info.

It gives me a great boost when work is delivered or picked up from me to hear the many positive comments from people this has involed on more than one occaision mopping up the tears. I am very proud in saying that nobody has ever had just one print from me. At this time of year when you're stuck thinking of what to buy someone for a gift consider one of my prints from one of your images.

Mike Armston

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Lotus Factory Parts Sale
November 29th and 30th 2008
Recognising the fact that demand at the Lotus Parts Sale held at the 60th Lotus Event at Hethel on September 14th 2008 was far in excess of the time available, Lotus Cars Aftersales have agreed to open for another Parts Sale over the weekend of 29th and 30th November 2008. Opening times are 09.00-16.00 on Saturday and 09.00-15.00 on Sunday.

This will be a real opportunity to pick up some great bargains at clearance prices directly from the factory. There’ll also be a one-off auto jumble of small parts at unrepeatable knock-down prices.

For details of what is available please go to http://www.lotus60thanniversary.com/forsale.php
More parts will be added over the coming weeks so keep checking to see what’s new. Please note quantities may vary from those offered and Lotus Cars cannot guarantee availability or accuracy of this list at the time of the sale.

Club Lotus will be assisting Lotus in this weekend and will be on hand for all Club related topics.

A wide selection of Lotus merchandise, including the new Lotus 60th Anniversary range, will also be available.

Classic Team Lotus has very kindly agreed to open their doors on both days for all things that relate to them including a tour of their F1 Workshops (£5 entry fee, redeemable if £30 worth of Classic Team Lotus merchandise/memorabilia is purchased).

If the weather allows, Classic Team Lotus will have several of their historic Lotus racing cars on display and are offering the rare opportunity to have your car photographed with a Lotus Formula 1 car (for which a small donation to a charity supported by Classic Team Lotus will be requested).

To keep you going over the weekend, Lotus have arranged on-site canteen type catering and other comfort facilities too.

Please note: No other area of the Factory during this Parts Sale weekend will be accessible.

If you’ve not been to the factory, Lotus Cars are at Hethel, Norfolk, NR14 8EZ or go to http://www.grouplotus.com/cars/directions.html
for full directions.

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WHEELER DEALERS - ON THE ROAD
Tuesdays at 9pm on Discovery Real Time
A Lotus Esprit is to be featured on Wheeler Dealers. The programme airs on Tuesday from 9pm - 10pm. Channel 240 on Sky and 271 on Virgin Media.

9-9.30pm Mike has a budget of £5000 to buy a Lotus Esprit. He finds one without an MOT which could be a big risk. Edd starts by ripping out the interior and the engine.

9.30-10pm Edd continues to refit the Lotus Esprit that Mike bought, changing the cam belt and replacing the manifold before replacing the interior. Will they sell it for a profit?

A preview video can be seen here!

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October 2008

Stoneleigh 08 'CANCELLED'
ClubLotus Parts Fair off for 2008
Unfortunately the popular November Parts Fair at Stoneleigh run by ClubLotus will not be happening this year, due to an issue with the venue. Usually the last meeting of the year for Esprit owners, we have been present since 2003. Whether it will reappear in 2009 remains to be seen.

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Calendar 2009 Now Available!
Order now from Esprit4Sale.co.uk
LEW's Official Calendar 2009 is now available for order. The first batch of orders will be shipped on Saturday 18th October. ClubEsprit members can get a discount off their order by seeing the discounts page on the club site.

LEW Air freshner

You'll also see we have added a new LEW air freshner to the Calendar package. You can buy individual air freshners from the site as well. So you can now keep your Esprit smelling fresh!

Any questions about ordering, please email and we can clear up any issues.

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Calendar 2009
At the Printers
Next years calendar is currently at the printers and should be with us soon. In the meantime, here's a list of owners who's Esprit have made it into 2009's hot list. Owners listed below can (on request) get a free A3 Calendar, paying just the postage. Please email to get your Free calendar.

Gonzalo
AndreasFuhrimann
Darrin Alker
Rob C
Glyn Harper
Dr. John Jeffery
Simon Mitchell
Dave Walters
Mark Britten
Peter Gentilli
Jeff Ippoliti
Jon Rotherham,
John Long

More info soon on ordering!

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News from September 2008