Lotus Esprit Sport 350

The Sport 350 is the most extreme version of the Esprit ever to reach the market. Developed from the already awesomely rapid V8 road car but encapsulating much of the brake, suspension and handling technology gleaned from two decades of GT competition experience. This is designed for the Esprit owner who wants the ultimate track day car.

In total Lotus will construct just 50 cars, each will be fitted with a limited edition aluminium plaque at the base of the windscreen in the centre of the dash, all of which will be offered in the same silver/grey/blue colour scheme with blue, not red painted cam covers, and priced at £64,950. 2 out of the 50 have now been comissioned in White, 1 in metallic Black (which will be the Company Directors Car), 2 in Black and one in Ice Blue. 8 units were also shipped to the U.S. Badged as 350 they where really spruced up V8-SE and even had the engine covers in red instead of the 350 blue and aren't really considered as true Sport 350's.

  

Visual changes from the current Esprit V8 SE & GT include a newly styled front end and a huge carbon fibre rear wing on aluminium uprights, designed around a similar wing worn by the Type 115 GT racer, 340 decals appear on the doors and roof. New OZ Racing alloy wheels covered in Pirelli rubber increase grip and reduce weight. Beneath the exterior AP Racing brakes improve stopping power. Stiffer suspension & engine bracing provide extra rigidity. Revised mapping of the ECU system produces an increase in torque in the 3 lower gears, and a reduce kerb weight of 80kg makes this the most accelerative Esprit in history.

Specification

ENGINE
Layout: 8 cyls in a vee, 3500cc
Max power: 349bhp @ 6500rpm
Max torque: 295lb ft @ 4250rpm
Specific output: 100bhp per litre
Power to weight: 268bhp per tonne
Torque to weight: 227lb ft per tonne
Installation: Mid longitudinal, rear-wheel drive
Construction: Aluminium alloy head/block
Bore/stroke: 81.0/83.0mm
Valve gear: 4 valves per cyl, dohc
Compression ratio: 8.0:1
Ignition and fuel: Lotus 918 ignition, multi-point injection, twin Garrett T25 turbochargers

GEARBOX
Type: 5-speed manual
Ration/mph per 1000rmp
1st 3.36/5.5 2nd 2.05/9.0 3rd 1.38/13.4
4th 1.09/17.9 5th 0.76/25.5
Final drive ratio: 3.89

MAXIMUM SPEEDS
5th 175mph/6850rpm (claim) 4th 129/7200
3rd 96/7200 2nd 65/7200 1st 40/7200

ACCELERATION FROM REST
SURFACE WET

True mph	sec	speedo mph
30	2.1	33
40	2.8	43
50	3.8	53
60	4.7	62
70	6.0	73
80	7.5	84
90	8.8	94
100	10.7	105

Standing qtr mile: 13.0sec/109mph
Standing km: 22.8sec/142mph
30-70mph through gears: 3.9sec

ACCELERATION IN GEAR

mph	5th	4th	3rd	2nd
10-30	–	–	4.6	2.6
20-40	8.9	5.4	3.6	2.0
30-50	8.0	4.4	2.9	1.7
40-60	7.3	3.9	2.5	–
50-70	5.8	3.4	2.6	–
60-80	5.3	3.3	2.9	–
70-90	5.6	3.5	3.2	–
80-100	6.1	3.7	3.5	–

SUSPENSION
Front: Double wishbones, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar
Rear: Upper and lower links, coil springs over dampers, anti-roll bar

WHEELS & TYRES
Wheel size: 8.5Jx17in (f), 10Jx18in (r)
Made of: Forged alloy
Tyres: 235/40 ZR17 (f), 295/35 ZR18 (r)
Pirelli P-Zero Spare: Full size

BRAKES
Front: 320mm cross-drilled ventilated discs
Rear: 320mm cross-drilled ventilated discs

STEERING
Type: Rack and pinion, power assisted
Turns lock to lock: 3.1

1 Aluminium gear knob is freezing on cold mornings; gearshift not a strong point 2 Air conditioning costs £1185 extra 3 Alpine stereo is much improved 4 Carbon fibre is used extensively; it's the real thing, too 5 Seats are partly covered in grippy Alcantara 6 Sport 350 buyers can choose between airbag wheel or this Momo item at no extra cost

   

 

Body 2rd coupe Cd n/a Front/rear tracks 1520/1520mm Turning circle 10.6m Min/max front leg room 1060/1250mm
Max front head room 880mm Interior width 1430mm Min/max boot width 1240/1870mm Boot height 280mm
VDA Boot volume n/a Kerb weight 1300kg Weight distribution front/rear 43/57 per cent Max payload 227kg

 

 

STANDARD EQUIPMENT:
The standard equipment for the 350 sport includes: leather/alcantara sports seats, leather/alcantara trim, carbon fibre/aluminium trim, Momo steering wheel, electric windows, central door locking/remote, alarm/immobiliser, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors. 24 months/unlimited warranty and 8 years anti-rust.