1 of 2 Original 1978, 'JPS Commerative' show cars...

The Lotus Esprit was launched at the 1975 Paris Auto Show and would evolve on a regular basis with its shape being influenced over the years by the pencils of three very well-regarded designers, Giugiaro, Peter Stevens, and Julian Thomson.

Initially it was going to be called 'Kiwi' but eventually it followed with Lotus tradition of every model name starting with the letter 'E' and 'Esprit' was the result.

It also followed in Lotus' tradition with its sparkling performance owing much to the car's "lightness", or more correctly, lack of weight with the early cars weighing only 1000kgs.

It was well received and noted for its fine handling and lively power output from its Lotus '907' 2.0-litre 4 cylinder engine.

The chassis was more than capable of handling various increases in power and by 1980, Lotus had introduced the 2.2-litre turbocharged Limited Edition in the colours of their Formula One sponsor, Essex Petroleum.

However, a ...