The silver Italdesign concept that eventually became the Esprit was unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in 1972, and was a development of a stretched Lotus Europa chassis.

It was among the first of designer Giorgetto Giugiaro''s polygonal "folded paper" designs.

Originally, the name Kiwi was proposed, but in keeping with the ''E...'' naming format of Lotus tradition, the name became Esprit.

For the S4 of 1993, Lotus designer Julian Thomson took another crack at keeping the Esprit relevant.

The biggest changes were to the bumpers and the aero package, with a restyled rear spoiler.

Engine output remained the same as the previous SE model at 264bhp, but in 1994 the Esprit S4 Sport arrived, with added engine modifications it topped a heady 300bhp from the 2.2-litre turbocharged four pot.

The introduction of a V8-powered Esprit in 1996 was the biggest news in some time.

The flat-plane-crank 3.5 litre engine was of Lotus design, fed by twin Garrett turbochargers, and driven through a mod...