Encor Series 1 Reimagines the Iconic Lotus Esprit S1
Fifty years after the original Lotus Esprit concept dazzled the 1975 Paris Motor Show, Encor unveils the Encor Series 1, a modern carbon-fibre remastering that aims to preserve and elevate one of the most recognisable automotive shapes ever created. This Lotus Esprit S1 restomod honours the spirit of the original while bringing the car’s design, materials and dynamic promise into the present day.
Encor calls its approach ‘respectful enhancement’. The design and engineering team behind the project, drawing on experience with Lotus, Aston Martin, Koenigsegg and Skyships Automotive, treated the Esprit as cultural heritage rather than a blank canvas. They set out to remaster it with contemporary craftsmanship and capability while protecting the purity that made the wedge-shaped icon so extraordinary.
“The S1 Esprit was forward-thinking, pure and utterly uncompromised,” says Daniel Durrant, Encor’s Head of Design and former Lead Designer at Lotus for the Emira. “To touch a shape like this is a huge responsibility. Every line we’ve refined, every decision we’ve made, is about honouring the original’s intent while letting the car perform, feel and function the way its silhouette always promised.”
Durrant’s team digitally scanned the original Esprit, then resurfaced and refined its geometry with modern design tools. They focused on tighter highlights, cleaner transitions, greater precision and material honesty. They removed the distinctive two-piece mould line of the 1970s fibreglass body and replaced it with an uninterrupted autoclaved carbon-fibre shell that captures the purity of the early sketches.
The new body looks unmistakably Esprit, yet its quality shows at a glance. The wheelarch surfaces feel taut, the shoulder line reads cleanly, and the front volume carries a sharper, more controlled edge. Encor subtly broadens the stance to accommodate modern tyres and improved brake cooling. The company also integrates ultra-compact LED projectors into low-profile pop-up housings, preserving the signature wedge front while adding contemporary performance and a cleaner aerodynamic face. Encor’s forged and billet-machined wheels echo the original slot-mag design and the later Sport 350 five-spokes, reinterpreting familiar cues with modern structural clarity and proportion.
Under the full-carbon body, Encor retains the backbone of a Lotus Esprit V8 to maintain continuity of identity and registration. The team strips, blasts, cleans, and refinishes the chassis, then pairs it with a fully reconstructed powertrain. The mid-mounted 3.5-litre twin-turbo V8 gains forged pistons, upgraded injectors, remanufactured turbochargers, a new electronic throttle body, modern fuel and cooling systems, and a new stainless exhaust. These changes reshape the engine’s character while protecting its unmistakable soul.
Encor targets approximately 400 bhp and 350 lb ft of torque, alongside a kerb weight under 1,200 kg. The company expects 0-62 mph in around four seconds and a top speed close to 175 mph. Working with Quaife, Encor re-engineers the original five-speed manual with a stronger input shaft, revised ratios, a helical limited-slip differential and a bespoke twin-plate clutch to deliver greater precision and durability. The team upgrades suspension to Sport 350 specification, fits AP Racing brakes, and keeps hydraulic steering to preserve the tactile, driver-focused feel that defines the original Esprit.
“Lightness and tactility guide every decision,” explains Mike Dickison, Technical Director and former MIRA engineer. “The Series 1 drives with the purity you imagine from an analogue supercar, yet with a depth of capability the original platform could only dream of. It’s a transformation carried out with complete respect for its DNA.”
Inside, the Encor Series 1 preserves the Esprit’s most memorable elements, from the dramatically sloped dashboard and cockpit-like wraparound instrument binnacle to the tartan accents and the sense of sitting deep within a purposeful, driver-centric machine. Encor rebuilds each component from the frame outward. The floating instrument cluster stands out as a bold reinterpretation. The team machines it from a single aluminium billet and wraps it around a modern digital display to achieve clarity, beauty, and structural honesty that 1975 could not deliver. The carbon-fibre dashboard “T” houses essential controls in intuitive reach. Encor restores, re-foams and re-trims the seats to retain original ergonomics while improving support and finish. Skyships designs and integrates in-house infotainment, climate, and camera systems, keeping convenience discreet so the cabin still feels resolutely analogue.
"This car is analogue at heart," says co-founder Simon Lane. "We wanted to avoid the modern tendency toward gadgetry; therefore, the technology exists to enhance the experience, not to dominate it.”
Encor Design brings together leadership that has delivered the Lotus Emira, advanced programmes for Koenigsegg, bespoke personalisation at Aston Martin, and engineering innovation through Skyships. The British firm evolved from conceptual airships in the 1990s to supplying cockpit electronics to global sports-car manufacturers. For William Ives, Skyships co-founder, the project carries personal weight. “The Esprit has been part of our story for nearly three decades. We built systems for its owners, we lived with these cars, and now we have the chance to bring all that experience together in a single, deeply considered package. This project has always been about respect.”
Encor limits production of the Series 1 to 50 individually commissioned cars worldwide. Prices begin at £430,000, excluding taxes, options and the required donor Esprit V8. Clients commission their cars at Encor’s Chelmsford headquarters or through private consultation for international buyers. Encor will start deliveries in Q2 2026 and continue them through 2027.
