Lotus Esprit Sport 300 Sports Car

 An evaluation of the Lotus Esprit Sport 300 Sports car, covering development, features that are important, and technical data of this the 20 fourth item in the Lotus range.

With this Article, I provide a nostalgic look at the Lotus Esprit Sport 300, 1 of an elite group of classic automobiles, which was constructed during the period 1993 to 1994.

The human body styling of the Lotus Esprit Sport 300 was by Julian Thompson, the chief designer at Lotus.

The automobile was initially provided in the type of a concept at the NEC Motor Show in Birmingham in 1993, and was a quick success, notwithstanding the point that it was coloured brilliant yellow.

It was conceived as a small edition sports automobile with a target audience of aproximatelly fifty products and was, in essence, the street going edition of the Esprit X180R.

In the long run, sixty four devices of the Sport 300 were constructed over a 2 year production period.

Although it'd a price tag of almost £65,000, it was nevertheless less than a Ferrari 348TB.

The hair styling of the body was depending on the Esprit Series four design, to that had been added:

A front side airdam which incorporated a selection of ducts for cooling the brakes

The wheel arches had been significantly extended

A huge wing was put in at the back The majority of the automobile was, actually, a variant of the Esprit X180R that had been entered, with positive results, during the 1991 to 1993 seasons, in the America World Challenge series, sponsored by the SCCA (Sports Car Club of America).

It embodied a 4 issue braced frame which provided extra tortional rigidity, something which had constantly been low in earlier Esprits.

Unusually for Lotus, it was equipped with a small slip differential, that arrived as standard equipment.

The general mass of the automobile was cut down by the considerable use of composite substances.

It'd driven assisted steering, as well as the suspension geometry was modified with much more powerful coil springs & dampers, that had been fitted each round.

In addition, the front side track was improved, whilst that at the back was widened by 2 inches.

A really apparent attribute of the automobile were the OZ 3 portion wheels, that measured 8.5x16 in at the front side, as well as 10.5x17 in at the back, as well as created exceptional grip and braking.

It sported 327 mm front side ventilated discs with 280 mm discs at the back, utilized racing calipers, and was backed up by a Delco Abs anti lock braking mechanism.

It was driven by a Lotus 910S, 2174 cc, sixteen valve, twin overhead cam motor, connected to a modified Garrett T3/T4 turbocharger, along with a charge cooler (intercooler).

With a compression ratio of 8.0:1, it was equipped with Delco Multi Point Fuel Injection.

Using enlarged inlet regulators, polished inlet ports, along with a recalibrated engine management process, it created 302 bhp at 6400 rpm, as well as 287 ft/lbs of torque at 4400 rpm. Hence the title Sport 300.

Having a power-to-weight ratio of 243 bhp per great deal, that was on a par with the Porsche 911 Turbo 3.6 of the period.

It'd a 0 60 mph time of 4.7 secs, a 0 100 mph time of 11.7 secs, a standing 1/4 mile time of 13.4 secs, along with a top velocity of 161 mph.

A manifestation of the engine 's versatility was displayed in the following figures:

A 30 50 mph time in quarter gear of 8.0 secs

A 50 70 mph time in gear that is top (fifth) of 7.4 secs