2000 | Lotus Esprit V8

Hello I am Bill Nuccio and I am very excited to offer our 2000 Lotus Esprit V8 on the Sotheby's Motorsport auction platform. I was the Lotus dealer in Chicago for 15 years, and we sold this vehicle brand new to a local client. This is the most complete example we have ever offered for sale. Azure Blue with Magnolia interior. We did a service, installed new tires and never drove it. It has been under cover for 5 years.

In the early 1970s, the genesis of the now iconic Lotus Esprit was seeded through a collaboration that brought together Lotus boss Colin Chapman and renowned Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. This partnership, forged on the foundation of Tony Rudd's proposition to produce a successor to the Europa, envisioned a mid-engine sports car influenced by Giugiaro's Maserati Boomerang concept, birthing a project that would span several decades. By 1975, the first-generation Esprit made its debut at the Paris Motor Show, a testament to four years of determined prototyping and a harbinger of the success the model would soon enjoy.
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After years of pondering and minimal changes to the British firm's inline-four-powered wedge, 1996 saw the arrival of the powerplant the Esprit always deserved. After an exterior refresh and a $7.5 million investment, Lotus Engineering bestowed upon the car a purpose-built 3.5-liter V8 with twin turbochargers to boot. At long last, the Esprit could finally deliver the performance its low-slung, road-hugging styling always beguiled, now boasting 100 horsepower per liter of displacement. Incorporating the innovative V8 catapulted the Esprit into the supercar class of its time, wrapping up everything to be loved about its contemporaries and placing them neatly onto the nimble Lotus chassis, all for a fraction of the price of a Ferrari or Lamborghini. 
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This 2000 Lotus Esprit V8 has remained with one owner up until the selling dealer's recent acquisition, the same dealer, in fact, who sold the car new. Finished in rare and desirable Azure Blue Metallic (B20) over a Magnolia leather interior with blue piping, this example has seen gentle use, now showing only 5,800 miles on the odometer. According to service records, an aftermarket limited-slip differential was installed in 2002, further enhancing the cars drivability. The car represents the pinnacle of driving pleasure in pure Lotus form, attractively optioned with a glass roof panel in addition to the standard metal, regularly dealer-serviced, and nearly always garaged. This Esprit V8 is now offered with a Lotus Certificate of Vehicle Provenance, a removed muffler, a clean Carfax report, and a clean Illinois title. 

Service records indicate a limited-slip differential was installed in 2002. The selling dealer sates a K&N air filter is fitted and an aftermarket muffler has been installed. 

The selling dealer states the drive belts were serviced and the tires were replaced in preparation for the sale. An April 2010 entry on the Carfax report shows a mileage reading of 51,000 however the digital odometer shows just under 5,800 miles. The selling dealer states this entry is a clerical error. 

The car has remained with one owner from it's initial purchase until the selling dealer's recent acquisition. The selling dealer states their dealership sold the car new. 

This vehicle shows wear consistent with its low mileage according to a Seller's Disclosure provided by the selling dealer. Please review this document by clicking "Seller's Disclosure" above. Further wear noted here is viewable in gallery images below.