Equipment
Alloy wheels, Hankook tires, air conditioning, power windows, factory cassette stereo.
Condition
Long term single ownership and represented with 15,480 original miles. A few scratches on the front bumper. Light cracking in the paint behind the right headlight, which isn't uncommon on a Lotus. There is a little more on the right rear, but the original paint is otherwise very well preserved but slightly dull. The all-cloth (and very brown) interior looks practically new. Showing 15,480 believable miles. An unrestored original and not perfect, but no early Esprit is. It has to be one of the world's best.
Market commentary
RM sold another nearly immaculate original '77 Esprit in Monterey last year for a staggering $106,400, well above what anyone expected. These have been somewhat undervalued vintage exotics for a long time, and it seemed like people were coming around to the Esprit. Not quite, however, at least not to the tune of a six-figure price. This result is arguably the more realistic top end of Esprit S1 prices, and the Monterey sale seems like an outlier.