White Lotus Esprit could be star of sale

A farm fresh, barn-stored Lotus Esprit is one of the latest cars to be entered in the specialist auction of vintage and classic cars at Dorset auction house Charterhouse on March 9.

The Lotus Esprit 3 rolled off the production line in 1982 and is one of just 1,053 Esprit’s 3’s produced. Sadly the owner became ill a few years ago and his beloved Lotus was driven into a barn on his farm one day where it stayed. With the owner now in a care home the difficult decision was made to ask Charterhouse to enter the car into their next classic and vintage car auction where it is estimated to sell for £14,000-18,000.

“Arguably the most famous Lotus Esprit was the one used by Roger Moore as James Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me which morphed into a submarine and this was the car which inspired the owner to buy his white Lotus Esprit 3,” commented auctioneer Richard Bromell. “Today it looks slightly sad covered in a film of dust and dirt in the barn but that is only superficial and I am sure the lucky new owner will have this Lotus back on the road in no time.”