best of the 90's - Lotus esprit s4 Turbo

[SuperUltiMatt]

what he said about the van is true but I never figured out why

[colj001]

lol jeremy looks funny

[chuckzimm1]

Van came equiped with the plumbers crack.

[MemeMinaj10]

im ready 4 the new esprit

[jeepmanification]

This car, the lotus esprit S4, can do nearly 170 mph without the cat converter.  It has a stock chargecooler and a stock turbo. See one nearly bury the needle at "lotus fast and furious" on youtube

[Ostrichinator27]

lmaoo i bet they put a jaguar xj220 engine in that van

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

@Ostrichinator27 How dozy are you?! Clarkson is taking the hit & miss out of van drivers! There is nothing special about the van in this clip, it's deliberately exaggerated- humourous, you know, SARCASM!!!!

[MrLotusspeed]

AND IM A WILD ONE

[MrLotusspeed]

MY KIND OF CAR

[shawncweed]

I have been lucky to own some really great cars...to include the Lotus Elise and an E55 AMG which I have now...but this car sings to me...simple, light, balanced and well thought out...sure, there are faster cars now, but this one really captured the moment and is one of the best, most unique cars of its time...I want one.

[Gurisssimo]

@vmarkk actually the esprit design isn't very british... (Giugiaro design)

[morgrp]

The guy driving the astramax is now the producer of topgear - andy willman

[No11Scalpel]

@morgrp what a turn around ..eh !! I thought he looked familiar

[buokopter]

i own lotus esprit SE

:>

i wish

[Cripton805]

the reason why they put it up agaist the van is because the Lotus tops out very quickly doesnt it? Very bad top speed. Lotus focuses on lightweight and acceleration is very quick and corners beautifully, but the major flaw is that it tops out.

[Warhead3000]

@Cripton805, What tops out at 160MPH?? don't be silly they are making a joke with the van, it's called humor. THe reality is that the van probbaly cant go over 100MPH and has a 0-60 time over 14 seconds, do some research, it's a joke

[Cripton805]

@Warhead3000 I was asking a question. And I wasnt stating fact. The other thing I mentioned about Lotus was true though.

[1aceves]

Jeremy Clarkson sure looks young in this video, doesn't he??....he looks like an old man nowadays!

[zigzagtoes]

lmao@astra max

[Doonantubes]

oh God I Love This Lotus esprit s4 Turbo

[VladimirElena]

1:20 MUSIC? PLEASE!!

[fdesouchecom]

@VladimirElena probably Ennio Moricone, musician from those Clint Eastwood western spaghetti movies

[supraman181]

it looks like a beefed up toyota mr2

[nicowalker1]

i agree, i have an elan m100 and when me and my partner go out it always makes me smile to say 'shall we go in the Lotus' :-D

[DualofChaos]

I miss this car, especially the V8. It has to be one of the best designs ever, I saw a red one a few days ago and it looked like it was worth more than a SLR. Then again, its replacement was not too bad either.

[avfc0589]

Excellent thank you. I think Lotus design cars superbly, and they drive well too so I understand. Gonna go hammering round in a Exige quite soon so am looking forward to it.

[ur2sensitive]

Remember when you could smoke on TV? Of course, can you remember when you could smoke ANYWHERE?

[dirtbagarry]

god he was so young there

[misteranonymousguy]

I'm digging his retro jumpsuit and the red gloves.... so Duran Duran.

[hjones1]

Oh geez, that was disgusting -- a plumber's butt crack. Eww.

[aieownyou]

thats a load he was NOT going at 130 mph.

[lotusexcelsa]

True, where is all the wind noise?

[flippertyjipperty]

@aieownyou True. this program is full of shit.

[Master7770]

I live in the US and watch this show all the time... I did'nt even know the show was this old though.

[cloko74]

the best part of the esprit is the rear lights,they are from a 1984 toyota corolla gt coupe,lol

[McLarenMercedes]

@cloko74

Indeed, but way into the early 90's the interior switches and gages in Ferrari's were the same as you got in a cheap Fiat Panda. A Ferrari Testarossa was a lot of cheap Fiat parts inside.

Also the Lamborghini Murcielago uses the same kind of turn signals as a Ford Focus.

[porkpig350]

sir pastyface when he was young!!!!

[rviradia]

I thought there was going to be some bestiality at 2:22 , porn music kicked in and everything, poor sheep

[oasiejiun]

wow!~ he is so young!!!

[budiceman0]

Actually if you look at the mr2 wikipedia it the original mr2 was done by toyota and lotus. Another thing the newer lotus elise/exige use toyota engines along with the new 4seater uses the 6cly camry engine. One more thing the latest lotus esprit 97+ had the chevy corvette engine and the steering wheel was the same looking as the saturns 93+

[opethmike]

Uhhhh, no. The V8 Lotuses used a Lotus designed engine, not any Chevy LS engine.

[budiceman0]

Sorry I believe it was the zr1 engine was designed in a cooperative effort between General Motors and Lotus" Sorry maybe I didnt post it correctly

[opethmike]

Yeah, that's correct - the 90s ZR1 did have an insane 4 camshaft motor developed collaboratively between GM and Lotus.

[lotusexcelsa]

I think Lotus designed the Suspension for the ZR1

in return Chevrolet gave them the 6 speed Gearbox for the Lotus Carlton/Omega

[Testacojones]

The ZR1 engine the LT5 was design by Lotus. The air management to shut off eight of the sixteen intake runners and fuel injectors depending on throttle input, braking, steering systems, tweaked the fx3 system too.

[EthanTheExplorer]

I'm pretty sure sure all Lotus Esprit V8 used the Lotus 3.5 32V V8 that could make 500+BHP but that would destroy the Renualt gearbox so they where detuned to 350 not sure on the steering wheel either but I still want on preferably a 2003.5 FRE

[Aztech355]

I do.

[Roodosutaa]

In the early 1980s Toyota did have a small share in Lotus and that is why 1980s Lotuses had some Toyota parts eg Supra brakes, some switchgear, and the 1987 facelifted Esprit (the one you see in this vid) had tail lights from the later version of AE86 Sprinter (they blend in so well it's hard to tell though).

It was also rumoured that Lotus helped developed the original AW16 MR2. As for looks, I reckon the MR2 looks consistent with other Toyotas of the period.

[liveguns]

i don't get it with that little blue box car/truck..

was it really going over 120 mp/h??

[hahayouknowme33]

i was thinking the same thing it seamed likr they were joking but if they wernt where can i get a van that goes 140

[imstm]

sorta

[Sodiumreactor]

that is NOT the good the bad and the ugly

[mrmustardoctgar]

is this the old top gear?

[VladimirElena]

What's that music. Look's like, some western theme?

[SpadeAndWhitey]

Ennio Morricone, the good the bad and the ugly.

[dougb450]

I bought an Esprit S4 last summer with only 11K miles on it. This machine feels great and it will be driven! But, I will spare no expense to take perfect care of it and by the time some of you guys are able to afford a collectible car, my Lotus will be one of those available to you. And here's my theory. The hypersonic aircraft of the near future are going to look a lot like the Lotus Esprit and that, along with the car's reputation, will fuel desire. I will tell you now, "it's a keeper!"

[RPLemmens]

In "for your eyes only", 1981 was a Turbo version in Monaco white (OPW 645W), and the later one in the film was indeed a maroon coloured version with skis on the back, also a 2.2 4 cilindre inline turbo (non chargecooled)

Awesome vehicle...when they actually work... but a sheer grin on my face when it does...it drives like a gokart.

[scutfargas]

Yes, the Lotus Esprit was used in two James Bond films. 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me" used the white one that transformed into the submarine. 1981's "For Your Eyes Only" used two. Another white one which blew up in the beginning and a maroon one throughout the rest of the film.

[stevestutz]

WTF, why is that van so fast, enlighten an american

[jackal2513]

its not ! Its called Sarcasm ;-)

they are making a joke aroudn the fact that these vans are always being driven fast by dodgy young builders and plumbers

[stevestutz]

ok, cause that was hilarious when it flew by at 140+, and jeremy's face

[DThaeman]

@jackal2513 i just dont get British humor sometimes

[thespectra]

@jackal2513 lol... oh god help us

[biggurs]

@stevestutz that model of the astra van is a 2.8 twin turbo mean machine........ Thats why!

you cant beat it!

[LIVERPOOLSCOTTISH]

@stevestutz Jesus, Yanks have no sense of humour at all do they? Rhetoric question!

[JELH]

Ha! The Astravan still is on the road! The vehicle details for K527 XNK are: Date of Liability 01 03 2010 Date of First Registration 01 09 1992 Year of Manufacture 1992 Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1598CC CO2 Emissions Not Available Fuel Type Petrol Export Marker Not Applicable Vehicle Status SORN Not Due Vehicle Colour BLUE Vehicle Type Approval null

[BboyFiZiX]

How the fuk do you know all that?

[JELH]

DVLA Vehicle Enquiry.

No information on the Lotus, though.

[mataharitu]

is that clarkson assssss?

[zx6rtt]

hahaha

clarkson looks so young there

but i digress...

Lotus FTW

[AlfaromGTV]

Thank you for this video

[BboyFiZiX]

Aww Yeah!!!! I had a toy one of these when i was a kid adn it was epic then! Long live Lotus......and of course the Great Sterling Moss!!!!!! :D

[Molo9000]

"Shall we go out in the lotus tonight"

I wanna say that some day

[morgman43]

Better looking than any car on sale today by a country mile and when they dropped the V8 in...yum yum!

[eurocarspeedbaun]

when did bond use a lotus?

[geforce5700fx]

In early 80's

[xraycortina]

In the film "The Spy Who Loved Me" which I think was released in 1977.

[SezFromMalygos]

old cars are awesome cars, esp this one!