The world’s most famous Lotus? It has to be the Esprit, thanks to its appearance in James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me.
It was the wedgy, four-cylinder sports car that sparked current CEO Qingfeng Feng’s awareness of Lotus when he saw it on the big screen. Back then he was studying chemistry at university. “But it wasn’t in the famous James Bond movie but Pretty Woman,” he tells Auto Express. “I was really amazed to see those headlamps pop up: I just thought it was really cool.”
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It’s no fleeting appearance, with the timid-driving executive played by Richard Gere moving into the passenger seat to allow Julia Roberts’ character to unleash the silver 1989 Esprit SE on Beverly Hills boulevards. Apparently the cameo triggered a record year for US Esprit sales, although its screen time and wow factor is eclipsed by 007’s weapons-grade submersible.
After taking over eight years ago, the CEO further appreciated the Esprit’s cultural capital, iconic, geometric exterior design and “elegant” interior: he praises the cockpit’s flat planes and aircraft-style instrument binnacle.
The Esprit is set for a comeback in 2028
Feng is determined to sprinkle some of the Esprit’s magic on the current range. In 2028, Lotus will unleash a V8 hybrid supercar with more than 1000PS (986bhp), a car with the Type 135 project number but one also referred to internally as Esprit.
The Theory 1 concept car – which has clear Esprit cues but fast-forwarded to the 2030s – will influence the design.
The CEO loves another classic Lotus too…
But it’s not the Esprit that Feng would love to drive back home on the streets of Shanghai: it was never sold there and importing a standard one would be impossible given its age and emissions.
The vintage Lotus that has him raising his hands in the air to pivot an imaginary steering wheel while we chat is the fabled Elise. “When I visited the UK, I would often drive one because I really enjoyed its agility,” he says.
The CEO admits he’s on the hunt for a mint example of the baby sports car in China, where it was launched with the four-cylinder Toyota engine. It’s heartening to imagine Feng making like Julia Roberts and scything through the shoals of anonymous Chinese electric cars in a brightly-coloured classic Lotus.
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