A British icon reborn in carbon fibre. The Encor Series 1 reimagines the Lotus Esprit — the wedge-shaped legend made famous by James Bond.
The 2026 Encor Series 1 and 1976 Lotus Esprit Series 1 — Sloane Street, London (April 2026).
Credit: Simon Lane
Half a century separates these two cars.
On the side of the street sits the original Lotus Esprit S1 — the sharp-edged wedge that arrived in London in 1976 and would soon find cinematic immortality in The Spy Who Loved Me, piloted by James Bond himself.
James Bond pilots the Lotus Esprit Series 1 in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
Credit: Pictorial Press
Opposite it stands the new Encor Series 1 — a £500,000 carbon-fibre re-engineering of the same car, faithful to its silhouette yet radically modern in construction and execution.
Two cars. One bloodline. Fifty years between them.
Seeing them together on a London street is not simply a neat piece of symmetry. It is a line drawn through time — from the bold futurism of the 1970s to an era where craft, engineering, and analogue engagement have become the new currency of luxury.
Lotus Esprit Series 1 (top) and Encor Series 1 (bottom).
Credit: Encor
The story of the Lotus Esprit hasn’t ended. It has evolved.
The Encor Series 1 is neither restoration nor replica. It is a ground-up re-engineering of the Esprit, using contemporary materials and technology to deliver a modern driving experience while preserving the unmistakable form penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Giorgetto Giugiaro's unmistakable form.
Credit: Encor
At the heart of that transformation is a full carbon-fibre body — a departure from the original glassfibre construction that brings reduced weight, increased rigidity, and far greater precision in bodywork and panel fit.
Pop-up headlights feature LED projectors.
Credit: Encor
The chassis has been redesigned, suspension geometry reworked, cooling modernised, braking performance upgraded, and the cabin entirely reimagined with bespoke detailing and contemporary ergonomics.
Bespoke detailing.
Credit: Encor
It looks familiar. But it drives, feels and behaves like something entirely new.
What makes the Encor Series 1 compelling isn’t simply its engineering, or even its rarity. It is the philosophy behind it.
Serious wedge.
Credit: Encor
At a time when much of the automotive world is defined by digitisation and mass-production, the Series 1 argues for a different kind of progress — one grounded in mechanical honesty, tactility, and craftsmanship. At an average price of around £500,000, it occupies a realm where cars are no longer transport, but commissioned objects: personal artefacts built to be lived with, driven, and understood.
The Lotus Esprit was never the predictable choice.
Credit: Collection Christophel
That philosophy echoes the spirit that made the original Esprit compelling in the first place. It was never the predictable choice — and neither is this.
The Encor Series 1 does not attempt to erase history. It embraces it.
This is not nostalgia for its own sake. It is proof that certain ideas — when strong enough — don’t date. They evolve.
The wedge is back. And this time, it’s sharper.
Encor Series 1 — entry price £430,000.00.
Credit: Encor
More information: Encor.Design