Due to my lifelong passion for the marque, it didn't take much coaxing to accept an invitation from Vancouver's Weissach Performance to drive the latest and last Esprit. Somehow the car looks more stunning than it did when it debuted so many years ago, and worthy to share showroom space with the likes of a Lamborghini Murciélago, a row of brand new Gallardos, and a bevy of Porsches, some of which had been massaged by Alois Ruf himself - Weissach is also the Lamborghini and
RUF dealer in Vancouver.
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| Somehow the car looks more stunning than it did when it debuted so many years ago. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
Over the years most of the Esprit's I had seen were coated in silver, black, red or yellow, the odd one in BRG, so the sight of my test car's deep red metallic paint scheme came as a surprise. It still looks stunning, but in a much more adult fashion.
The choice of color didn't seem to put off the train of cars that followed me up the highway a short while after leaving the dealership. They were admirers, one group of youth in a fairly new Mercedes sedan and another lone assailant in of all things, dad's Camry. They each pulled up beside me with their thumbs extended and big silly grins plastered across their faces, a sight you'd have to get used to if you were to live with a Lotus on a daily basis.
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| You'd better get used to people gawking if you plan to drive your Esprit on a daily basis. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
Say what, living with a Lotus every day? Why not? The Esprit comes across like a car that could serve just as well commuting to work as it does charging up the racetrack on weekends. Sure there's no dead pedal for the left foot, a little disconcerting at first but once I learned to let my leg lie a little sideways I found it quite comfortable. The seats too, are firm and wonderfully supportive, but just the same extremely comfortable even after a solid two hours behind the wheel.
