The launch of the Lotus Esprit GT3 was a bit of a surprise. After the long-awaited V8 powered Esprit had come to the market (to a rather lukewarm reception from the press, who had been begging for it for years), the GT3 was a return to form. Light, agile, accurate; a proper Lotus.
It used the 2.0-litre Type 920 engine, which had previously only been available in Italian market Esprits, where it offered tax benefits. It was the last car to use a 900 series engine, Lotus’s development of a GM unit which had seen service in Eclats and Elites. The engine had a near 30-year lifespan and produced 240bhp in its ultimate turbocharged guise in the GT3.
We met Hubert De Pelet, owner of this GT3, at the GRRC track day earlier this week and managed to persuade him to keep the car still for long enough to capture this footage.