Saturday 14th June 2025
Paris 1975 – This is when & where the Esprit S1 was launched by Lotus and the team at Classic Team Lotus have honoured the iconic car’s 50th Anniversary with an amazing collection of 50 of them parked on the lawn at East Carleton Manor, Colin & Hazel’s home for the 3rd annual CTL Garden Party.
With a global guest list in attendance with people traveling from across the UK, Europe, the USA and even Australia, the Esprit was truly given pride of place. Special guests from the Esprit’s history included Mike Kimberley, former Lotus CEO, Giorgetta Giugiaro, the original designer of the Esprit, Peter Stevens who was responsible for the 1988 re-design, Julian Thompson who did the same with the S4 in the mid-nineties and Russell Carr, current Design Director of Lotus Cars and who remodeled the car for the final time in 2002.
With nearly every model represented, some iconic moments in the car’s history were represented at the event with the standout being an Esprit submarine in the pool, a task much enjoyed by Clive Chapman! We’d like to see the video of it being taken back out again! A gold Series 2 sat proudly in front of the iconic image of ACBC and his Cessna Chancellor and a Olin Mk IV ski-laden Turbo Esprit helped to complete the Bond effect!
CTL celebrated Jim Clark’s most amazing achievements in 1965 where he, with Team Lotus, won: the F1 championship taking 6 out of 10 top steps on the podium, Indy 500, Australia’s Tasman Series, British Formula 2 championship and French Formula 2 championship. No racing driver before or since has seen such a successful year and stands as a true testament to the remarkable talent from the humble Scotsman and skill of Colin Chapman and the team.
An amazing, once in a lifetime celebration and a huge thanks to all the team @ Classic Team Lotus for putting so much effort into making this an unforgettable, unmissable experience.
