First edition of classic Lotus Esprit for sale at £60,000

The very first edition of a classic Lotus Esprit is on sale for £60,000.

The iconic wedge-shaped British car was displayed at the 1978 Earls Court Motor Show.

The motor was decked out in the distinctive black and gold livery of that year’s Lotus world championship-winning Formula One team.

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It was officially called the ‘World Championship Commemorative Model’, but commonly known as the John Player Special, shortened to JPS.

The car was the first limited-edition Esprit from Lotus.

It’s believed that just 185 were made.

It is the same type of Esprit as the one made world famous as the underwater car in The Spy Who Loved Me, as reported by Whats The Jam.

Its listing states: “The specification included gold-coloured side-stripes complete with World Championship lettering, gold-coloured front and rear windscreen surrounds and colour-coded alloy wheels.

“The 1,973cc 16-valve DOHC engine delivered a feisty 160bhp, which was sufficient to sprint the 1,980lbs fibreglass-bodied two-seater to 60mph in 6.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 124mph.

“The short production run lasted from December 1978 to July 1979.

“Chassis #78100491G was the first World Championship Commemorative Esprit to be built and was also the show car at the Motor Show.

“Additional build records on file dated 12th January 1993 from Lotus Cars Ltd confirm that chassis #78100491G was supplied by a Dublin dealer to the owner of the Reuter’s Restaurant of Westmoreland Street, Dublin on the 24th August 1979.

“Interestingly, a 2017 entry by a Mr Caroll on an online forum about historic Dublin restaurants states that he remembers the Lotus outside the restaurant back in the day.

“Although liveried at the motor show as car #001 and confirmed as the first production car, the car was later re-renumbered by the selling agent during the period.

“For example, the second factory JPS was liveried as car #002 in 1978 for promotional purposes and later sold as #034 to the first owner, reflecting, perhaps, the idiosyncratic way that Lotus Cars was run back then.

“We are informed that another JPS was sold under a #001 livery, and so, for the avoidance of doubt, for those who wish to check online sources, this car, chassis #78100491G, was the first JPS car built and bears the #001 sticker as it once did as the promotional car in 1978.

“Sales information provided to our vendor confirms that the car was imported into the UK in 1989 by the previous owner and commenced an extensive six-year restoration, after which the odometer was zeroed.

“It was registered with the DVLA on 4th October 1995 and subsequently purchased by our vendor in 2006.

“The schedule of works prior to our vendor’s ownership can only be described as ‘ground-up’, and we welcome inspection of the detailed file.

“Used sparingly, but run up to temperature during brief but regular outings, the current odometer reading is 1,840 miles, and the car will be freshly serviced and MOT tested prior to our auction.

“This historically important motorcar has a fabulous file that includes reams of receipts, a Series 2 handbook, two keys and the aforementioned Lotus Cars Ltd correspondence confirming its pedigree.”

Whilst the most famous Lotus Esprit of all time entered the Sardinian waters with James Bond at the wheel and will likely never come to market, the other most recognisable Esprit, the JPS, is very special and none more than factory car #001.”

It is being auctioned on Saturday, 23 Aug, at Silverstone, Northants, by Iconic Auctioneers.

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