Forgotten movie cars - Lotus Esprit in Pretty Woman
01/08/2015
The most famous appearance of the Lotus Esprit was of course the one in the James Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me", but this was a first-generation Esprit S1 , which was also honored in another Bond film as the S3 Turbo. The second-generation Lotus Esprit, designed by Peter Stevens, was even more popular with film-makers.
As early as 1989, shortly after its release, it roared across the screen for several minutes in the movie "Pretty Woman". It didn't detract from the advertising impact that Richard Gere, as a millionaire spoiled by limousines, obviously couldn't get into the car - after all, Julia Roberts took the wheel halfway through the journey and showed Gere how to drive the car properly.
The silver Lotus Esprit SE with a four-cylinder engine is beautifully accentuated in the evening light of Beverly Hills. For the rest of the movie, however, it was only good enough for an extra role. The second-generation Esprit then also made an appearance in 1992 in "Basic Instincts" (with Sharon Stone), this time in white and black as a pair of twins. However, the costs for Lotus (or owner GM) must have been significantly higher than for the James Bond appearances.
