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In 1976, Lotus returned to the mid-engine sports car game with the Giugiaro-penned Esprit. It looked as much like a cheese wedge as possible only a lot prettier. As we’d later find out, it made for a terrific ride for Agent 007 as portrayed by Roger Moore in ’The Spy Who Loved Me’. What’s not as widely known is that the Esprit almost became the first Bond car to make it, in race trim, on the grid at Le Mans.
The year Lotus unveiled the Esprit, the FISA (Federation Internationale du Sport Automobile) came to the rescue of the ailing World Championship of Makes by introducing the ludicrous Group 5 category for grand touring cars. It marked the beginning of the era of ’silhouette’ machines that stole the limelight from the sports prototypes. Porsche’s 935 was the king of the Group 5 class with its turbocharged engine but many other manufacturers raced in the category including Toyota, BMW, Lancia, and Ford. One plucky privateer wanted to see Lotus up there with the juggernauts in a proper David vs. Goliath showing and he made it happen with his own two hands and some help from a group of passionate mechanics. This is the story of Richard Jenvey’s Lotus Esprit S1 Group 5 race car.
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