What made this series of Lotus design studies that more amazing, though, was that they were incredibly ambitious - everything from entry-level sports cars to front-engined V8 grand tourers, and tiny city cars to four-door sedans. Yes, in hindsight, we all know it was a load of baloney, but we were too caught up in delight and euphoria to really care at the time - after all, it now looked like Lotus was, after years of dwindling sales and not actually turning a profit, finally going to unleash the potential it had locked away in its talented workforce at Hethel. And where better to showcase this world-beating might, than with the first car that was going to be released in this five-year plan to turn Lotus's fortunes around: an all-new, Ferrari-rivalling Esprit supercar.