Dany Bahar's Lotus Esprit For Sale

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

Perhaps the final nail in the coffin for the Dany Bahar-era of Lotus; the company is auctioning off his 2003 Esprit, which was restored with a fresh engine, paint job and interior. A Brembo/AP braking system, a center exit exhaust and a bigger spoiler are among the unique touches on this 36,000 mile cream puff. For a man with such questionable judgement in business, his taste in cars is quite good.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • CJinSD CJinSD on Aug 24, 2012

    If his taste in car is so good, why does this Lotus look like the whelp of a Storm Trooper and a Pontiac?

  • Beemernator Beemernator on Aug 24, 2012

    Can someone from the B&B gallery comment on how good and durable that Lotus V8 engine really was? It must have cost a bundle to develop, but wasn't available for very long. The Esprit was very, very old by that time. Was it a good engine in search of a better car? The answer that the market gave was that it was not a good package.

  • JuniperBug JuniperBug on Aug 24, 2012

    I know that a family friend had one of these. He bought it used with very low mileage, and the engine needed to be replaced under warranty not long afterwards. According to readings from the boost gauge, and the fact that he said the new engine never felt as powerful as the original, he suspected that the previous owner upped the boost on it, which definitely could have played a role in the premature failure. While definitely less practical and reliable as a contemporary 911, I always wondered why you never saw more of these around. It was a very stylish car with lots of presence, IMO.

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    • Crosley Crosley on Aug 25, 2012

      That's the "rub" with cars like this. You have exclusivity, but you're likely sitting on a ticking time bomb. Unless you have "oil sheik" money and just don't care, I can't imagine buying one of these in the day, the dealership or entire company could be out of business before your next oil change. They were beautiful, in my opinion, but they have a dated "80's" look where all supercars tried to look like angular fighter jets.

  • ELnNH ELnNH on Aug 26, 2012

    Wow...at first glance I thought I was looking at a Fiero with a body kit.

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