HowardRoark 28 1 Vehicles Report post Posted December 31, 2014 Just wondering about the LOTUS letters on the 918 engine: my 1999 Esprit V8 has the letters painted in red, as is also shown on the actual Lotus Spec sheet for customers. But I have seen plenty of engines with the LOTUS letters un-painted with just the aluminum look. Does anyone know when Lotus started / stopped painting the letters, or on which years?? Cheers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jammy-pop 8 2 Vehicles Report post Posted December 31, 2014 Matt, Mine is a 1996 V8 and it has unpainted letters. Hope this helps! Steve. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex Carter 155 1 Vehicles Report post Posted December 31, 2014 I thought they all were painted and it's individuals who choose to have them polished ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HowardRoark 28 1 Vehicles Report post Posted January 1, 2015 I thought they all were painted and it's individuals who choose to have them polished ? It is possible, but I have seen so many with un-painted letters, I doubt that every owner has done that. I am wondering if the Lotus factory polished them on certain years?? Perhaps the 918 letters started as polished in 1996, and then became too costly for the factory to do, so they just painted the whole lump? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vanya 475 Report post Posted January 1, 2015 Mine's a 1996 with the original paint still on, letters are painted over. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
march 412 1 Vehicles Report post Posted January 1, 2015 mines a 1999 and the letters were painted in before the engine rebuild Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gixxer 2 Report post Posted January 1, 2015 2003 Polished letters. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HowardRoark 28 1 Vehicles Report post Posted January 8, 2015 Hmmmmm....So no real rhyme or reason so far on polished vs painted letters...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lotusespritse 42 1 Vehicles Report post Posted January 9, 2015 (edited) There is plenty of rhyme and reason. It started between 2000 and 2002 that they were all polished. Edited January 9, 2015 by lotusespritse Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HowardRoark 28 1 Vehicles Report post Posted January 12, 2015 Matt, Mine is a 1996 V8 and it has unpainted letters. Hope this helps! Steve.. Here is a 1996 with unpainted letters though..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
