【Speedhunters译起看车】来自东京的挚爱——三台路特斯Espirt在日本

原作者：Toby Thyer

原标题：From Japan With Love: 3 Lotus Esprits In Tokyo

It’s pouring with rain. I’ve got a WRX transmission in my kitchen and a backlog of stories to write. I make the hard call and decide not to drive down to Lotus Day Japan at Fuji Speedway.

外面正下着瓢泼大雨。我身处厨房，手里攥着个wrx的变速器，以及一整堆积压已久的稿件。是啊，决定不开车去富士赛道参加路特斯赛道日是个艰难的决定。

I missed out that day for sure, but luckily I got my dose of Lotus last month. In fact, I got a triple injection of the lightweight British sports car.

无疑，我错过了那次赛道日，但我已经在上个月欣赏了几台路特斯。事实上，那次我一共看了三台这种英国的轻量化运动跑车。

It’s all thanks to Masahiro Yamada, the owner of this green 1988 Esprit Turbo HC. “Wouldn’t it be cool to get a few generations of the Esprit together?” he asked me. “Does James Bond always get the girl?” I replied in my head as I typed the answer: “Absolutely!”.

这一切都要感谢Masahiro Yamada，也就是这辆1988年的绿色Esprit Turbo HC的主人。“把几代的Esprit放在一起不是很酷吗?”他问我。

"詹姆斯·邦德总能得到女孩吗"我一边打字一边在脑海中回答:“当然!”（路特斯Espirt曾于1977年作为邦德座驾出演007.海底城——译者注）

I wasn’t sure where exactly to shoot this iconic car, but I knew it had to be classy and a little glamourous. Like a Bond villain, I lured Masahiro-san to an alleyway under the old railway bridges that lead to Tokyo Station. There isn’t much old stuff in Japan’s capital city accessible to the public, but these bars and shops nestled under the arches make for a nice backdrop.

我不确定应该在哪里拍摄这辆标志性的车，但我知道它必须显得优雅的，有点魅力。像邦德里的反派一样，我把Masahiro先生“引诱”到一条通往东京站的老铁路桥下的小巷里。在日本首都东京，向公众开放的老建筑不多，但这些坐落在拱门下的酒吧和商店同样可以构成绝佳的背景。

Nonetheless, as Masahiro-san and I made our way through the narrow streets, I immediately fell in love with a car that has been in my subconscious since I was very young. The soft leather interior made me feel more intellectual than I am, and the sound of the vent-to-atmosphere blow-off valve hissing whenever Masahiro-san came off the gas made me feel like my lack of intellect is somehow OK.

当我和Masahiro先生在狭窄的街道穿梭时，我立刻爱上了这辆从我小时候就扎根在我潜意识里的车。柔软的皮革内饰让我不由自主地感到公爵般高贵，而每当雅弘先生关掉暖气时，排气管的吹气阀发出的嘶嘶声又让我觉得自己只不过是个流浪的小孩。

As a child, I can remember one day having a flu and needing to stay home from school. My dad was home to look after me, and together we watched two films. One was Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, and the other was The Spy Who Loved Me. The Lotus Esprit submarine car in the James Bond film was the coolest thing I had ever seen. And quite honestly, it may well still be.

当我还是个孩子的时候，我记得有一天我得了流感，不得不呆在家里不去上学。我爸爸在家照顾我，于是我们一起看了两部电影。一部是《星球大战:绝地归来》，另一部就是《007：海底城》。那部邦德电影中的莲花Esprit潜艇车是我见过的最酷的东西。说实话，现在很可能仍然如此。

Unfortunately, we couldn’t find an S1 Esprit like the one in The Spy Who Loved Me, but Elon Musk has the original submarine car, so I’ll keep sending him emails until I get a reply.

遗憾的是，这台S1 Espirt并不像电影里那辆白色的潜水车，但我知道艾伦马斯克买下了电影里的那辆原型车，所以我估计会一直向他发邮件请求，直到收到回复（笑

Heading up the expressway to the parking area, the car pulled surprisingly well for something 10 years older than its driver. But given the Esprit only weighed 1,067kg from factory and made 218PS from its turbocharged inline-four engine, it’s no wonder it feels spritely. You can knock a few more kilograms off Masahiro-san’s car thanks to the carbon fiber composite roof panel a previous owner installed.

这辆车沿着高速公路驶向停车场。对于比它的车主尚年长10岁的一台车而言，它的动力惊人地好。但考虑到Esprit出厂重量只有1067公斤，而其涡轮增压内联四引擎的功率高达218马力，它给人的震撼于驾驶乐趣也就不足为奇了。而前车主安装的碳纤维复合材料车顶，甚至让Masahiro-san的车又减几公斤。

‘Simplify, then add lightness’ continues to be the ethos of this car, long after Colin Chapmen coined the phrase.

“简化，还要更加轻盈”自从科林·查普曼（路特斯品牌创始人——译者注）创造了这个短语，路特斯就一直没有偏离它的初心。。

Despite being 35 minutes early to Tatsumi, the other two Esprit owners were already there with their cars. This is Japan of course, and 10 minutes early is five minutes late. What a sight to behold.

尽管我们早了35分钟，但其他两名Esprit车主也已经开着车到了。要知道，这是在日本，而早到10分钟就是晚到5分钟。多么壮观的景象啊！

Lining the three cars up alongside each other, it was nice to see the different evolutions in design, starting from the two earlier S3 Turbos and ending with the later S4 model. We’ve skipped the oddly-numbered X180, and not only could we not find an S1, we couldn’t get our hands on a V8 either.

当这三款车并排排列，你很容易就能看到设计上的演变：从较早的两款S3 turbo开始，到后来的S4车型。（我们跳过了那款有着奇怪编号的X180，此外，我们不仅找不到S1，也找不到V8款式。）

The two silver Esprits are mostly stock, but that doesn’t stop their young drivers from enjoying them as a gentleman might appreciate a fine single-malt whiskey.

这两款银色的esprit是三台中最接近原厂状态的（也是车龄最大的），但这并不妨碍它们的年轻司机享受它们，就像一位绅士也懂得欣赏一瓶上等的单一麦芽威士忌一样。

Masahiro-san’s Turbo Esprit is sporting some classic Panasport G7 C5C-L wheels, a brand which suits the Lotus to a tee. I think James would have found them rather dashing, don’t you?

Masahiro先生的涡轮Esprit则恰恰相反：经典而富有运动特性的Panasport G7 C5C-L车轮，以及最最适合路特斯的T形尾翼。我想邦德会觉得它们很时髦，你说呢?

The Esprit may not be as revered by Bond fans as the Aston Martin, but I think it has more than earned a place amongst the best.

Esprit可能不像阿斯顿·马丁那样受到邦德迷的尊敬，但我认为它绝对无愧于系列中最好的车型。