Lotus Esprit Turbo (Project X180)
In 1987, the Esprit was restyled by British designer Peter Stevens. Stevens, who would later go on to design the McLaren F1, produced a less angular, more rounded Esprit. Giugiaro is said to have liked the new shape, claiming it was perhaps too close to his original design. The exterior changes were accompanied by a redesign of the interior that gave more space to the occupants. The revised Esprit was not given a new "Series" number but is often called by its project code of X180.
Panels for the body were produced using a new process called VARI (Vacuum Assisted Resin Injection). This method, which was patented by Lotus, offered advantages over the previous hand lay-up process. Kevlar reinforcement was added to the roof and sides for roll-over protection.
The X180 cars inherited most of their mechanical components from the earlier HC Esprit and Turbo Esprit, although the name for the forced induction model was now Esprit Turbo. 1988 model year North American Esprit Turbo models kept the Citroën transaxle and Bosch fuel injection system used in the previous model year. Other X180 cars received a new Renault UN-1 transaxle, which necessitated a move to outboard rear brakes.
Power output of the Type 910 turbocharged engine was unchanged, but 0-60 mph acceleration times dropped from 5.6 seconds to between 5.4 and 5.1 seconds. Top speed was over 150 mph (240 km/h).
In 1989, the K-Jetronic system was replaced with a Lotus/Delco multi-point fuel injection (MPFI) system. The engine also received an air-water-air intercooler called a Chargecooler by Lotus. This revised engine was known as the Type 910S. Power output was up to 197 kW (268 PS; 264 hp) with 209 kW (284 PS; 280 hp) available on overboost. 0-60 mph acceleration times dropped to 4.7 seconds and top speed was over 160 mph (257 km/h). The 910S engine went into the new Special Equipment (SE) model, which also received changes to the body, with side skirts parallel to the body, five air ducts in the front air dam, wing mirrors from the Citroën CX and the addition of a rear wing.
[Text from Wikipedia]
Lotus Esprit Turbo (Project X180)
In 1987, the Esprit was restyled by British designer Peter Stevens. Stevens, who would later go on to design the McLaren F1, produced a less angular, more rounded Esprit. Giugiaro is said to have liked the new shape, claiming it was perhaps too close to his original design. The exterior changes were accompanied by a redesign of the interior that gave more space to the occupants. The revised Esprit was not given a new "Series" number but is often called by its project code of X180.
Panels for the body were produced using a new process called VARI (Vacuum Assisted Resin Injection). This method, which was patented by Lotus, offered advantages over the previous hand lay-up process. Kevlar reinforcement was added to the roof and sides for roll-over protection.
The X180 cars inherited most of their mechanical components from the earlier HC Esprit and Turbo Esprit, although the name for the forced induction model was now Esprit Turbo. 1988 model year North American Esprit Turbo models kept the Citroën transaxle and Bosch fuel injection system used in the previous model year. Other X180 cars received a new Renault UN-1 transaxle, which necessitated a move to outboard rear brakes.
Power output of the Type 910 turbocharged engine was unchanged, but 0-60 mph acceleration times dropped from 5.6 seconds to between 5.4 and 5.1 seconds. Top speed was over 150 mph (240 km/h).
In 1989, the K-Jetronic system was replaced with a Lotus/Delco multi-point fuel injection (MPFI) system. The engine also received an air-water-air intercooler called a Chargecooler by Lotus. This revised engine was known as the Type 910S. Power output was up to 197 kW (268 PS; 264 hp) with 209 kW (284 PS; 280 hp) available on overboost. 0-60 mph acceleration times dropped to 4.7 seconds and top speed was over 160 mph (257 km/h). The 910S engine went into the new Special Equipment (SE) model, which also received changes to the body, with side skirts parallel to the body, five air ducts in the front air dam, wing mirrors from the Citroën CX and the addition of a rear wing.
[Text from Wikipedia]