We’ve not been discussing the Cybertruck on CC, lately. And I cannot really help that, as they are (I believe) still not road-legal in Japan, as is the case in many places around the world, so I still haven’t seen one. But that ultimate automotive wedge issue of our time does have a passing kinship with the oh-so-wedgy early Esprit, doesn’t it?
Of course it does, as it’s a matter of public record that the CT was designed with the Esprit in mind, according to Musk himself. Some angles make the visual similitude clearer than others. Other parallels include stellar performance, a reputation for less-than-stellar build quality – especially early cars, in both cases – and CEOs whose management style was, shall we say, pretty unique.
Of course, there are many differences too. The CT’s back end looks like a fridge, whereas the Lotus looks like a squashed Rover SD1. I much prefer the latter, but that’s just me.
It’s the first thing that hit me when I saw this Esprit. Newer ones (S4s, Turbos and V8s) are not too rare in these Lotus-mad parts, but finding one with the good old ribbed-for-our-pleasure Leyland-tastic taillights was a first for yours truly. My, my, grandma Lotus, what big clusters you have.
By the mid-‘80s, the Esprit’s most egregious faults had been ironed out. Well, it had been in production since 1976, so one hopes that progress could be made in terms of build quality and reliability. But it went beyond that. From around 1984-85, Lotus started colour-coding the Esprit’s bumpers and mirrors, which gave the car a fresher look ahead of its Big Facelift, slated for 1987.
This is a standard Esprit, as opposed to the Turbo. The 2.2 litre DOHC 4-cyl., fed by two Dellorto carbs, delivers its 160hp to the rear wheels via a Citroën 5-speed gearbox – pretty much the same one that was used on the SM.
Quite different from the Cybertruck inside, of course, though I imagine visibility is a little better in the Lotus. Hope you will fit the seat, because it’s not the other way around in this car: the seat back is fixed in place, stuck to the engine compartment. I’m guessing those buttons aft of the gear lever have to be operated by feel alone. At least, you don’t have to worry about that in a Tesla.
If you look hard enough, there are yet more parallels between the legendary Lotus and the troubled Tesla. I’m sure we all remember seeing the Cybertruck for the first time in late 2019, when it was mercilessly pelted with a steel ball in the interest of science. But the first deliveries only took place four years later, which is quite a while. But not unprecedented.
To wit, here is the Esprit concept car, as it was on the Italdesign stand at the 1972 Turin Motor Show. It took Lotus four years to get production going. Imagine that.
Does this mean the CT will be in production for another 20-odd (to say the least) years, just like the Esprit? We shall see. One thing the British sports car had that the Tesla currently lacks was the ability to be road-legal in pretty much every country at the time of its launch.
And the kind of folks who buy British sports cars – especially those bearing that badge – usually know what they’re getting into, i.e. trouble, and lots of it. Usually serious, even. Folks who buy pickup trucks usually put a premium on reliability and usability, which are not necessarily the CT’s strongest suits.
One thing Tesla should have taken from the Esprit along with the styling, in my opinion, was the use of plastic body panels. The Cybertruck’s stainless steel body makes a lot less sense, as nearly all reviews point out how fussy the upkeep is and how dangerously sharp the corners are. I bet a plastic body would make the CT a bit lighter too, which might help in some respects, such as tyre wear.
The main difference between the Esprit and the CT has to do with sales targets. I’m not sure what Colin Chapman figured his latest sports car could reach, but it sold in the hundreds per year. When production ended in 2004, the veteran Lotus had reached over 10,000 units. Numbers and timelines are characteristically fuzzy when Telsa are concerned, but several sources claim they were thinking 250-350k units per year. It seems the CT’s actual production numbers this year will be closer to the Esprit’s tally than what Tesla product planners might have liked. Maybe it’s time to stick some giant Rover taillights on the Cybertruck. Or, at the very least, get James Bond to drive one underwater.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1988 Lotus Esprit X180 – Here Comes Trouble, by T87
Curbside Classic: 1977 Lotus Esprit S1 – Giorgetto Giugiaro Takes Up Origami, by PN
Vintage Review: Lotus Turbo Esprit, by Yohai71
CC Capsule: 1987 Lotus Turbo Esprit – Turbo Doorstop, by Tom Klockau
Tesla’s Cybertruck: Did I Just Dream That?, by PN
Seeing a Cybertruck For The First Time In Person–My Reactions, by Stephen Pellegrino
When I see a cybertruck, I see this:
https://i.redd.it/bdfc6kvzy0141.jpg
Has Giugiaro ever gone on record about how much of the Esprit he recycled into the M1?
At some point it almost becomes self-plagiarism.
I’d like to see someone take some ribbed taillights down a dusty road to see if they’re actually effective. Mercedes got some effective PR from them in the 70s.
What I find interesting is that the Rover SD1 taillights were USDOT-approved some years before the attempt was made to sell the SD1 here, they didn’t have to swap them out for maybe Pontiac Sunbird ones on US-spec Esprits.
Ribbed taillights were on 80s Ford Falcons and actually still show lights after a run on dirt roads, they work as intended.
So many laugh out loud lines in this one. Thanks, Tatra87!
Those taillight surrounds look like a puckered anus. Well, two of them, actually, and the color here doesn’t help…The pleasure derived from the ribbed taillights can’t fully overshadow that. Not for me, at least. Are the surrounds the standard look when the rear spoiler is deleted from the non-turbo? The turbo’s lights are far more integrated into the be-spoilered rear.
I’ve long been a fan of the Esprit in general, but over time have definitely gravitated to the later restyle, Peter Stevens did a masterful job with that, in my own opinion of course. I’ve never tried getting in (or out) of one of any generation, but suspect that I’m better off just liking it as is in regard to that status.
Perhaps I also prefer the turbo’d version of the original shape with its usual appendages, some of which this one has gained over the production run, which by 1985 was surely starting to look a little long of tooth, we never received the naturally aspirated version in the U.S.. The rear end especially is almost comically bad in this respect, really giving credence to the “shed-built” part of the usual Lotus detractors.
I do love the font they use on the lower side graphics for the word “Esprit”, doubly so when “Turbo” is added to it, shame you didn’t get a closeup of that little nugget. An excellent bit of typographical design that still looks crisp and interesting.
So, overall, a bit of a mixed bag for me. I’d have stopped and taken pix of it as well though, so that makes it a very worthy find in my mind.
Looks like the Turbo applied an entire wraparound endcap with integrated spoiler, so that allowed for the taillights to be fully enclosed within the cap.
The S1 Esprit apparently used Fiat X1/9 taillights recessed into the tail, so I’d reckon they didn’t want to mess about with altering the body molds or their resulting bodies, and instead just added these caps to cover the original recesses and accommodate the new SD1 taillight clusters.
I like the cleanliness of the concept car. The lack of saturation in the use of silver paintwork, once lent more exclusivity in visual appeal.
The only car that the CT even vaguely resembles to my eyes is the DeLorean. Both are unpainted stainless steel, and both are angular. The DeLorean has gull-wing doors, the Cybertruck doesn’t though another Tesla (Model X) does. I’m guessing another similarity will be they don’t stick around very long – I think many people who wanted CyberTrucks already bought one; it will follow the AMC Pacer sales curve for unusual-looking cars – reasonably strong sales at first, soon to plummet once they’ve been on the road for a few years and no longer garner attention.
I wasn’t aware the driver’s seat wasn’t adjustable fore and aft in an Esprit. That’s really bizarre, unless the steering wheel and pedals were adjustable as they are on some cars.
I do wish all of these were pelted mercilessly with balls of steel, in the interest of aesthetics. I really don’t want to twitch my curtains and see THAT sort of thing happening on the curb.(I pay far too much to live a respectable neighborhood, I do). They resemble less a parts-bin exterior than the plastic bin itself, and there’s quite enough of them from the council round here, respectability or not.
Anyway, even if I could afford one, I would refuse to enter any vehicular conveyance by mean of a Morris Marina’s doorhandle.
The Giugiaro concept has some virtue about it, if one must have wedges served with everything as it seems one did have to in the period. But the gappy, junky reality is an affront, no matter how wondrous the drive is alleged to be.