The Project M71 Esprit will use Esprit V8 chassis and
suspension with fully adjustable coilover spring/damper units
The Esprit chassis evolved following its initial
launch with the S1 but has changed very little since the "Eagle"
chassis was released in 1989
The
only major difference in for the V8 model chassis was the curving of the rear
engine cradle tubes, to allow the exit of the exhausts on
both sides of the car
This diagram shows the mounting points of the 12 bolts that secure
the chassis to the GRP body - important information for seperating
the body from the Esprit Turbo chassis on the donor/recipient car
and mating to the V8 rolling chassis
Here's a chassis at the Lotus factory, being welded
up in the jig - this is a pre-V8 version as the rear engine cradle
tubes are not curved
The Esprit rear suspension originally had a "Chapman
Strut", which meant that there was no top link and the fixed
length driveshaft provided camber control
This was revised becuase of driveshaft wear and an
adjustable top link was added
The rear uprights, above, went out of production by
Lotus and became very rare but new billet CNC versions are being
designed, shown on the right
Click
here for the CAD files
and
drawings
The updated coilovers are
fully adjustable, for ride height, bump and rebound
The previously mentioned "Eagle" also introduced
chassis geometry changes, which eliminated anti-dive and a reduced
of the front castor angle