This was a very exciting moment. I remember travelling back to London on the M1 and could hardly believe that I was in Britain's best loved and well know supercar. Volkswagon Corrados and similar vehicels were overtaking me then slowing back behind me, circling to get a good look at this sleek blue shark. Other quick cars egged me on and when I could not resist the temptation any longer, I floored the gas at 80mph. Thing was, nothing seemed to happen, there was no drama..... until I looked at the speedo and in the rear view mirror. In a matter of seconds the proverbial spaceship had gone to 130mph and the red VR6 Corrado was just a mere dot on the horizon. That is the S4, no drama, no fuss - just efficiency. It is not a car that feels immensly quick or raw in the TVR Griffith 500 sense. No, the S4 is modest about its performance and at 100+ speeds it is so aerodynamic that it just cuts through the wind and tricks you that nothing has happened.

After my first session over my favourite country roads I was extremely surprised just how agile the car was. It certainly shrinks in size and is very chuckable across the twisty stuff. Like all Lotus's, being born and bred on the abysmal roads of Hethel in Norwich, it handles bumps incredibly - just exuding a feeling of even greater stability and grip. In fact I always seek out out quite bumpy and undulating roads for driving as this is where the Lotus truly lives. In those early days, I soon discovered just how friendly and progressive the S4 was on the limit giving you plenty of warning and allowing bags and bags of adjustability. (click on the thumbnails above)

Very soon I was taking all those 2nd gear tight bends with a boot full of throttle and the rear swinging round then tucking back in with a touch of opposite lock - glorious. The steering of the esprit is exquisite and the long geometry was a joy to feel after the elan. The S4  saw the introduction of the saginaw power steering set up and according to the press, for an assisted wheel it had no peers at that time. Feel is fantastic and placing the car is an act of laboratory precision. This car is not a fast sports machine - it is an exacting instrument and rewards best when driven like one. After my first few weeks in the esprit I was overcome with the belief that although just twice the price of an Elan SE, it felt like 3 or 4 times the car.

The esprit has presence, every drive is an occasion and along with the diablo and one or two others it is the last of a dying breed: the supercar, the super fast, flat, wide car which is to be feared, to be overcome and held in awe. Performance cars these days are no longer supercars, they have gone all soft and GT and have merged with the general market and the wishes of the mediocrity. With a few exceptions, The Porsche BMW and Ferrari etc.. of today are not real supercars but cars which carefully do not exclude the majority. They can do the shopping, the long trip abroad, the swift country run and the odd trackday - for me that just isn't focused and specialised enough.

I am not interested in cars that do everything well and are loaded with gagetry and electronic driver aids. For me a car should hold a sense of occasion in the styling department and above all, combine performance and handling in the most uninterrupted, focused manner possible. By definition, this firstly requires that nothing obstructs the cars dynamics from the driver's senses, secondly, that the car is very light weight and thirdly, that it probably has a chassis and suspension built by Lotus (sad but true). Finally, it is important that the engine has character and is deeply satisfying both in terms of the nature of its power delivery and its vocalisation. Sadly only one Lotus that I have driven lives up to that last expectation and that is the motorsport elise 190.

An interseting historical point concerning the esprit is the rear wing. Opinions rage about the different styles over the years but I vastly prefer the 1995-8 wing on the S4s, Sport 300 and early V8 models. The arching and leant back nature of this swooping hoop lends the car a very balanced and seductive quality. The wing of 1992 was very striking as well, flat and wide and supported by 2 arms either side like a suspension bridge. Many people hated this look and it only lasted for a year on perhaps 40 or so cars before the introduction of the S4.

Once, in the dreaded suburb of Epsom in Surrey, I was literally attacked by a neighbouring truck who quite clearly failed to see the low stingray-like presence next to him. He scraped the front wheelarch a little and ripped off my wing mirror. The arch luckily came clean with some Auto Glym and the mirror was replaced for £80 or so.

After the Elan, I found the S4 very costly to run. One rear tyre was £240 and economy figures regularly hit the sub 20mpg mark. The only consolation was that insurance was the same as the Elan ! Sadly, my trip to Italy in the esprit never came about and although I went far and wide in the UK, it would have been nicer to have travelled more and gone on a few more circuits.
 

Exactly a year after purchase I sold the car for a deathly £8800 less than I paid for it. I took the cash and bought a peugot 1.6 gti for a runabout and put my Lotus history on hold. I knew that the Elise would be next - it was just a question of when. It was a sad and desparate day but that is now the past - read on to the Elise page to catch up with the present.