1979 Lotus ESPRIT John Player Special

There’s nothing worse for a Lotus than neglect – so it’s reassuring to see that this Esprit comes with a detailed history with few gaps, and a pile of bills detailing top quality professional attention to almost every aspect of the car over the last seven years.

The current and previous owners have lavished money and attention to detail on the car – the vendor owned an Esprit in his youth and was determined to bring this one back to as-new condition. In fact, he’s probably achieved considerably better than new, having spent some £18,000 on what was already a very good car when he bought it in April 2017.

Photographs detail extensive work at marque experts SJ Sportscars in 2017/18, which included a full engine rebuild (the car has done 3000 miles since) and bringing all the electrical equipment back into full working order.

The seller reports that SJ Sportscars stated that this is the best JPS they have ever seen, and they would be happy to discuss its condition with potential purchasers.

This Esprit has had at least three registration numbers in its lifetime, wearing the personalised number 71 JAC at one time, then GJI 717, then GVF 85T – but the owner managed to get DVLA to reissue its original registration, DLH 393T, with the help of Lotus Cars – the final vital touch in its restoration to full originality.

Absolutely stunning in its black/gold JPS livery, this has to be the most difficult car to photograph ever! The black paintwork is so smooth and well-polished that it might as well be a mirror – it reflects absolutely everything, to the point where in photos, you’re not seeing the car’s paintwork at all, just what it’s reflecting. The human eye is a very clever instrument, and can appreciate the shiny black paint much better than a camera can…

It’s rare to find an Esprit with such good paintwork, and we can’t see any sign of any cracking, starring or crazing in the usual areas (or anywhere else, for that matter). The gold coachlines and logos are near-perfect (just the tiniest loss of detail on the Commemorative Edition No.022 lettering on the rear flanks, as can be seen in the photos). The seller thinks he has a full set of duplicate transfers to pass on with the car, though they are certainly not needed at present. Feel free to click the ’Contact Seller’ button to enquire about this.

Just as the exterior is a challenge to photograph, so is the interior with the contrast between the black leather and the gold cloth. But to the eye, it’s spectacular and the condition of the hard-to replace gold cloth is as new. The switchgear is all present, correct and working, as are the instruments. All the gold trim details are as they should be and the extent of the detailing is quite intoxicating, with gold strips, gold speaker grilles, gold cloth inserts and gold labelling. The black carpets are perfect and unmarked.

The car even still has its original Hitachi radio, which has been modified to accept phone input with a connection hidden in the glovebox – where the original sticker specifying tyre sizes and pressures is still in place and near-perfect.

The rear compartment and engine bay of the Esprit are as spotless as the interior and coachwork, with a neat luggage cover and immaculate-looking moulded engine and battery covers. The twin-cam engine and twin Dellorto 45s are clean and purposeful, with everything correct including the original, factory-confirmed, engine number – plus the assurance of a full engine rebuild just 3000 miles ago.

The Esprit is a low car, and the vendor has a steep drive so it’s no surprise to find a few surface scrapes under the front corners, but you have to get right down on the ground to see them.

At the back, there’s a new stainless exhaust system, there’s no visible rust on the chassis or suspension and both engine and transmission appear to be completely free of leaks.

At the front, there are a couple of spots of surface rust on the anti-roll bar and track rod, but these could be cleaned off and touched up quite easily.

The tyres are the correct specification – 205/60HR14 front, 205/70HR14 rear – and are a matching set of 2014-dated Maxxis tyres in as-new condition. They are mounted on flawless-looking and correct gold Lotus Speedline alloy wheels.

A very detailed personal letter from Lotus’ own Archivist confirms all the details of the car and is accompanied by its Certificate of Provenance. It also confirms that despite the No.022, it was the 12th JPS built (they were not built in order), completed on 21st December 1978 and invoiced to main dealer Chipstead of Hampton Court on 2nd January 1979. Chipstead sold it to Waverley Textiles Ltd in London on 10th January 1979, and Lotus report that it had a new transmission under warranty at 3579 miles in May 1979.

The car passed through a few owners in its first six years and a couple of photos survive of it carrying the registration 71 JAC, but one caring owner from April 1985 to his death in 2013 – intriguingly with the surname Chapman, and living in Norfolk! – saw the car through the years when so many were neglected: it’s documented that he cherished the car and always kept it garaged. He had it registered GJI 717 and it even featured on TV in 1989, when Top Gear reported on the first all-Lotus gathering at Donington Park: https://youtu.be/hNBQ0I-9Bv4.

MoTs on file show that it had covered a relatively high (for a Lotus) 49,887 in its first eight years, but this soon decreased, with 52,581 in 1988, 55,720 in 1989 and 59,918 in 1990 – then 61,139 in 1994 and 62,240 in 1995. It’s believed that the long gap then represents a time when the transmission failed, and it didn’t move for some time, not hitting the road again for 15 years. The online MoT history shows that it was then MoT’d every year but used very sparingly between 2010 and 2013, having 62,797 miles on the clock in August 2010 and 63,323 when acquired by the new owner in August 2013.

The next owner embarked on a programme of improvement, having the body taken off the chassis so that it could be properly cleaned and repainted, which the vendor assures was all that was necessary. The chassis was inspected again by SJ Sportscars during the major work shown in the photos, and found to be still in excellent condition.

He took the mileage up to 64,464 miles before passing it on to the current vendor, who had clocked 65,386 miles when it had its last MoT just under a year later. Since then it has covered less than 2000 miles and been exceptionally well maintained by a marque specialist, so being MoT exempt, there was no need for one. Recent work has included new brake calipers, suspension bushes and rear wheel bearings.

In 2018 the car was extensively featured in Classic Cars magazine – a copy of the magazine is included in the history file. An original factory Esprit workshop manual also goes with the car.

The JPS Esprit has so many unique details that an imperfect one would be very expensive to put right. No such worries with this car, because it delights with the completeness of its detailing and its superb condition inside and out. As the seller says, the next owner will have nothing to do except drive it and enjoy it – and look after it!

This is a very rare opportunity to buy a superb, fully-sorted JPS Esprit. As a Special Edition that suits the Esprit shape and style so well, inside and out, it deservedly commands a significant premium over standard models and should be worth comfortably in excess of £46,000 - £60,000.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the vendor in Bristol; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.