The number of reimagined cars continues to grow with the latest offering being the Lotus Esprit. A true supercar, the Lotus Esprit found fame in a James Bond movie and ushered in the wedge design for Lotus. When I was working in Cambridgeshire I was fortunate to take a factory tour at Hethel and was able to see the whole Esprit production process.
I am still not sure where I stand on these recreations. There is no doubt that the introduction of more modern technology and materials improves them, But with a price tag well in excess of £400 000, is it worth it? For that kind of money you could have a fantastic car restored to your specifications. Then you wouldn’t need to capture the original spirit of the Esprit, it would already have it. But at the end of the day it is a personal choice, and I won’t judge.
The Esprit is a concept that stands up well to modern tastes, especially the later models where the angularity was a little more rounded. 50 years after the original Lotus Esprit concept dazzled the 1975 Paris Motor Show, Encor unveils the Encor Series 1 – a modern, carbon-fibre remastering.
The Series 1 is the result of a philosophy Encor describes as ‘respectful enhancement’. The design and engineering team behind the project – drawn from experience with Lotus, Aston Martin, Koenigsegg and Skyships Automotive – approached the Esprit not as a blank canvas, but as a piece of cultural heritage. The goal was to remaster it with the sensitivity, craftsmanship and capability of the present day, without disturbing the purity that made it so extraordinary in the first place.
Durrant’s team began by digitally scanning the original Esprit, resurfacing and refining its geometry using modern design tools. The objective was to perfect: tighter highlights, cleaner transitions, greater precision and material honesty. The distinctive two-piece mould line of the 1970s fibreglass body could be removed, replaced by an uninterrupted autoclaved carbon-fibre shell that captures the purity of early sketches.
The result is a form that looks unmistakably Esprit, yet reveals its quality instantly: the tautness of the wheelarch surfaces, the crispness of the shoulder line, the sharpness of the front volume. The stance subtly broadens to accommodate modern tyres and brake cooling, while the lighting – now ultra-compact LED projectors integrated into low-profile pop-up housings – retains the distinctive wedge front end, but with contemporary performance and a cleaner aerodynamic face.
Even the wheels speak the same language of reverence. Inspired by the original slot-mag design and the later Sport 350 five-spokes, Encor’s forged and billet-machined wheels reinterpret familiar cues with modern structural clarity and proportion.
Beneath the full-carbon body sits the backbone of a Lotus Esprit V8, retained intentionally for continuity of identity and registration. The chassis is stripped, blast-cleaned and refinished before being paired with an entirely reconstructed powertrain. The mid-mounted 3.5-litre twin-turbo V8 receives forged pistons, upgraded injectors, remanufactured turbochargers, a new electronic throttle body, modern fuel and cooling systems, and an all-new stainless exhaust.
Performance targets reflect this upgraded philosophy. The engine now produces approximately 400 bhp, with 350 lb ft of torque, pushing a target kerb weight of under 1,200 kg. Acceleration from 0-62 mph is expected to take four seconds, with a top speed close to 175 mph.
The transmission receives equal attention. Working with Quaife, Encor re-engineers the original five-speed manual with a stronger input shaft, revised ratios, a helical limited-slip differential and a bespoke twin-plate clutch, giving the shift a precision and durability the original never possessed. Suspension components are upgraded to Sport 350 specification; braking is delivered by AP Racing; steering remains hydraulically assisted rather than electric, preserving the tactile, driver-focused character fundamental to the original Esprit.
Inside, the Series 1 preserves the Esprit’s most memorable elements: the dramatically sloped dashboard; the cockpit-like wraparound instrument binnacle; the tartan accents; the sense of sitting deep within a purposeful, driver-centric machine. Yet each element has been rebuilt from the frame outward.
The floating instrument cluster is perhaps the most striking reinterpretation: machined from a single billet of aluminium and wrapped around a modern digital display, it delivers clarity, beauty and a structural honesty impossible in 1975. The carbon-fibre dashboard “T” houses every essential control, putting function exactly where the driver expects it. Seats are restored, re-foamed and re-trimmed, maintaining their original ergonomics while elevating support and finish. Infotainment, climate and camera systems – designed in-house by Skyships – integrated discreetly, providing quiet convenience without disturbing the analogue intent.
Commissioning and Availability
Production of the Encor Series 1 is limited to 50 individually commissioned cars worldwide. Prices begin at £430,000, excluding taxes, options and the required donor Esprit V8.
To visualise your Encor Series 1, visit www.encor.design and explore the online configurator.
Oh dear oh dear. Why can’t people leave things alone?
I have long loved the purity of the original Lotus Esprit S1, and I’ve hated the way that it lost its angularity over the years, and gained protuberances all over the place.
It wasn’t designed to be a V8 monster, that’s why it was so simply done by Giorgetto Giugiaro. He knew what he was doing.
If you want to build a V8 Monster now, why don’t you get a PERSON to design something fresh and for TODAY. There is nothing original for today, and it is time that car designers faced that void. ItalDesign didn’t look around to see what they could copy, they chose original ‘folded paper’ design which has clearly stood the test of time.
I sincerely hope this project fails spectacularly and that 50 buyers cannot be found.
Simon