2003 Lotus Esprit V8 Final Run Edition

Tony’s Take: When I was starting out, the Lotus Esprit was as exotic as any Ferrari. “Why don’t they bring the big money?” I asked a dealer. “Because they’re plastic,” he replied. Lotus sent the last Esprits stateside in 2004, sold as 2003’s to finesse federal regulations. By then Colin Chapman‘s progeny were made of Kevlar-reinforced VARI (Vacuum Assisted Resin Injection).

Still plastic. Still light (3,050 lbs., same as a Cayman GT4). I’m not sure why, but it still doesn’t bring big bucks. I predict this eye-searing yellow Final Run Edition (FRE) Lotus Esprit will break the mold (so to speak).

OK, it wasn’t featured in a Bond movie (The Spy Who Loved Me or For Your Eyes Only). Richard Gere didn’t grind its gears in Pretty Woman). But the Russell Carr-designed Final Run Edition was the second-to-last car manufactured with pop-up headlights (hat tip to Corvette).

The FRE handles like a slot car – as you’d expect for a featherweight from the house of Chapman. Powered by a mid-mounted 3.5-liter DOHC flat-plane crank V8 with a couple of Garrett T25/60 turbochargers, the FRE sprints from zero to sixty in 4.4 seconds, topping-put at 175 mph.

Lotus was determined to make the last Esprit the best. They fitted the two-seater with Eibach springs, Bilstein shocks and an adjustable spring platform. They put a stainless steel grille in the front spoiler, restyled the rear valence, added diamond pattern seat stitching, shortened the brushed aluminum gear knob, fitted a tire pressure monitor and TA DA! put the engine builder’s signature on the intake plenum.

The key factor: rarity. Only 79 of these cars rolled out of Hethel. This low-miler is as good as any and better than most (cough track day cough). Downside: Lotus Esprits always need work (clutch, timing belt, alternator, etc.).