27/05/2026
Fourteen years. One car. One deadline.
In 2010, Ian Copham bought a non-running Lotus Esprit S1 for £9,250. White exterior, green and orange tartan interior. The same specification as Roger Moore's car in The Spy Who Loved Me.
The plan was simple: get it running, refresh the trim. That plan lasted about a week.
What followed was a complete strip-down to bare shell and chassis, a 160-to-200 BHP engine rebuild showcased at Race Retro, a custom stainless exhaust, full repaint in Monaco white, and a period-correct interior retrim from scratch.
The deadline that finally finished it: Ian's daughter asked if it could be her wedding car for August 2024. He drove it for the first time in 14 years, two days before the wedding.
Six weeks later, it won first place at Salon Privé, Blenheim Palace.
The full story is on our website. Link in bio.