The Lotus Esprit was conceived in an era of optimism when car manufacturers commissioned radical, futuristic concept cars. The Lotus Esprit concept car was first displayed at the Turin Motor Show in 1972, designed by Giugiaro from Ital Design. Work began on the car in mid-1971 and was completed before the end of the year as a full-size mock-up. A second more advanced car, based on the Europa chassis, followed in 1972. It was initially dubbed as special-bodied Europa, as it was built on a lengthened, widened version of the Europa’s steel backbone chassis, with a longer wheelbase. The response from the public at the Turin Motor show was positive, so Colin Chapman decided to put the car into production. The final design for the M70 was completed in the latter half of 1973. Many details of the Europa-based prototype remained in the final Lotus Esprit production car.
Source: 1970s Supercars - Lotus Esprit M70 Concept Car. https://www.lotusespritturbo.com/Lotus_Esprit_M70_Concept_Car.htm
Images: ItalDesign; Lotusespritturbo.com
