Lotus Esprit

Live market prices, listings, and how many are still on the road.

Lotus Esprit — market at a glance Median asking £38,995 Median achieved £30,800 Asking vs achieved +27% Sell-through 80%

Recorded auction results and live UK asking prices for this model are below, along with how many are still on the road. Our own sold-price comparables are still building.

Still on UK roads

Licensed in Great Britain 750 as of 2026 Q1

Declared off-road (SORN) 1,253 stored, restored or resting

Peak on the road 1,690 in 1999 — 56% gone since

Vehicle counts contain public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 — DfT/DVLA vehicle licensing statistics (table VEH0120, Great Britain), grouped by generic model. Counts cover all body types and fuels registered under this model name.

MOT pass rate & common faults

MOT pass rate 89.4% of 1,938 tests

Typical MOT mileage 55,000 median recorded, miles

MOT pass rate by year — improving, up 4.0 points since 2020:

Excludes 2024 — that year covers a different number of tests from the rest of the series, so the rate is not comparable with the years shown.

Most common failure areas — share of failed tests citing each area (a car can fail on more than one), from 205 sampled fails:

Lamps, Reflectors and Electrical Equipment	14.6%
Brakes	14.1%
Noise, Emissions and Leaks	12.7%
Suspension	7.8%
Visibility	5.9%

MOT figures contain public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 — DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results (Great Britain), class 4 (cars & light vehicles), 2024. Pass rate is measured across first (initial) MOT tests only; a pass counts a certificate issued outright or after minor repair at the station. Grouped by generic model.

Auction market — what they sell for

Median sold £30,800 midpoint of recorded sales

Average sold £38,900 mean across sales

Sell-through 80% strong demand — of cars offered find a buyer

Sales on record 225 since 2018

Auction-market figures are derived statistics (medians, counts and trends) from data supplied by oldcarsdata.com — recorded sales across Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids, Hagerty, PCAR Market, Gooding & Co and RM Sotheby’s, as of 2026-07. Prices converted to GBP. No individual listings reproduced.

Asking on eBay UK right now

Median asking £38,995 midpoint of live UK listings

Listings live 9 range £10,950–£64,995

Typical time listed 35d median, since tracking began

Listing type 100% classified · 0% auction

Live UK asking (median £38,995) sits 27% above recorded auction results (£30,800). Asking is what sellers want today — a UK retail read against largely international auction sales, not an achieved price.

What’s for sale by price — how the live UK listings split by asking price:

Price band	Listings	Share
£10k–£20k	2	22%
£20k–£35k	1	11%
£35k–£50k	3	33%
£50k–£75k	3	33%

Asking figures are live, de-duplicated statistics from the eBay UK and dealer listings we currently track for this model — the same cars shown in “for sale now”. Asking prices are not sold prices.

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