Reimagining the Wedge

Half a century after the Lotus Esprit stunned Paris, Encor has pulled the covers off the Series 1, a carbon-fibre, ground-up remastering of one of the most iconic wedges ever put on wheels.

Rather than reimagining the S1, Encor has respectfully enhanced it. The team, with experience at Lotus, Aston Martin and Koenigsegg, treated Giugiaro’s original shape as sacred ground. The car was digitally scanned, resurfaced and tightened up, then reborn as a single-piece autoclaved carbon shell. The stance is slightly broader, the lines cleaner and the pop-up headlights now house ultra-compact LEDs, but the silhouette is unmistakably Esprit.

Underneath sits the backbone chassis from an Esprit V8 donor, completely stripped and rebuilt. The 3.5-litre twin-turbo V8 returns with forged internals, refreshed turbos and modern cooling, targeting around 400 bhp. Expect 0–60 mph in about four seconds and a top end near 175 mph.

Inside, the vibe remains wonderfully analogue: deep-set seating, a wrapped cockpit, tartan accents and that dramatic dash line. But everything’s rebuilt to modern tolerances, from the billet-machined instrument cluster to quietly integrated electronics.

Only 50 cars will be made, each individually commissioned. Builds begin in 2026.

Photos © Encor