Lotus Esprit S4S

The story

Launched in late 1994, the S4S was Lotus reading the market well. It took the turbocharged 2.2-liter 4-cylinder from the Sport 300, wrapped it in the same wide-arched body, then added the softer suspension, leather and walnut of the standard S4. On paper it should have been the lesser car: 1,460 kg (3,219 lb), or 217 kg (478 lb) more than the Sport 300, with 2 fewer horsepower and no limited-slip differential. Yet its 290 lb-ft peaked at 3,600 rpm, 800 rpm lower, and Motor Sport recorded 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds.

That flexible engine and compliant chassis make it the Esprit best suited to everyday roads. It was not flawless: the cabin is loud, the pedals awkwardly offset, the Renault-derived gearbox slow and imprecise, and testers disagreed sharply about the brakes. In the wet, though, it found traction that seemed impossible for a mid-engined car with this much power, and when it finally slid, it could be caught. Motor Sport's tester, fully expecting ridicule, rated it the most well-rounded British sports car then on sale. With 367 built against roughly 64 Sport 300s, it is also the one an enthusiast might actually find.