AutoArt 1998 Lotus Esprit V8

An Iconic car from one of the worlds and England’s few remaining specialty car manufacturers the Lotus Esprit had an amazing production run of 28 years. During that time, despite being generally powered by much smaller engines, it was competitive in performance with much of its contemporaries from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche and other “exotic” manufacturers.

Some considered the Lotus to be a “supercar on the cheap” with its use of parts from other much more pedestrian cars. Lotus over the years used gearboxes from Renault and Citroen, door handles from a Morris Marina, a steering wheel from a Pontiac Trans Am, and tail lights from the 1985 Toyota to name just a few. The secret of the Esprit was the car had it where it counted; race bred suspension, light weight, a willing engine and great brakes. It was said that one did not so much sit in a Lotus but rather “put it on”.

AUTO art’s new offering from the “Millennium” line is the 1996 Esprit V8 and it is a very satisfying rendition of the “big engine” Lotus.

The lines of the car look true to the real car and the fit of all the pieces is so good you’ll have a challenge opening the doors. AUTO art has done a very good job at keeping all the lines of the car clean and crisp and the red paint. The wheels and tires are likewise excellent with the Lotus logo neatly placed in the center of each wheel; a nice touch. The “pop up lights are a nice touch and work well. Even better the seams between the lights and the bodywork are tight and uniform. Far too often the price of “moving parts” is sloppy or gaping seams; no so on the Lotus. The interior is nicely done, the detailing is clean and crisp – especially the controls and gauges - and the seats, dash and trim look much more like leather and wood than plastic. The front end is beautifully executed with good looking secondary lighting and real wire mesh instead of stamped plastic.

Sadly, while they are well done, there is not much to see in either under the front “bonnet” or in the rear engine compartment. Perhaps to make up for the lack of engine detail on to Autoart does a very nice job detailing underneath both at the front and rear.

Overall I find this to be an excellent model of one of the true modern classic British road cars and given it’s excellent fit and finish this Lotus model, like the real car, is a solid value for the money.

-Frank Lemire