Lotus Esprit Sport 300 #62 – Spark

1994 Lotus Esprit Sport 300 
Pilots: R. Piper, P. Hardman, O. Iacobelli
Team: Lotus Sport / Chamberlain Engineering
Race: DNF (class GT2) at Le Mans in 1994
Spark - S0447 (resin)

Published 06/18/17

Introduced in 1992, the Esprit Sport 300 was as a stripped-out lighter version of the Esprit Turbo. Based on Lotus’s IMSA racing X180R, it used the Lotus 910S engine. The 910S was an inline-4 cylinders with 2174 cm³, 16 valves and DOHC. Turbocharged by a Garrett T3/T4 unit and inter-cooled, it delivered 302 hp. In road trim only 64 cars were produced, and it wasn’t a commercial success. Though it was a pretty quick car (comparable to the Porsche Turbo of the time), the hefty price tag combined with a harsh ride didn’t make the car very popular.

Esprit Sport
Honest but admittedly kind-of too boring livery. Well, does look like a BP sponsored car. Or perhaps Australian?

For the 24 Heures du Mans of 1994 Lotus had two works cars in the race, both Esprit. However, both failed to finish – Esprit Sport #62 here was out in the 59th lap due to an accident. I guess this falls into the oddball category of models, but a nice one. An older mold from Spark – paint job not as crisp and shut lines on the shallow side – but a nifty model nonetheless. Reminds me a lot my Ligier by them, but without the bad headlights. However nifty, I think it’s a model only for the Le Mans nut.

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PS: Mr. Stupid All-Thumbs here managed to snap a wing mirror. Fortunately, an easy fix. But I confess I got mighty pissed at myself. And may have used a bit (just a smidge) of foul language.

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