AN 'experimental' Lotus supercar watched by millions on Top Gear has gone on sale after being left to rot in a hangar for years.
The iconic 1983 Lotus Esprit Turbo made history as the first motor to be fitted with a computer-controlled active suspension system.
The motor was invented by British engineer and Lotus founder Colin Chapman for the company's Formula One cars and featured an onboard computer that adjusted the car's suspension according to the road conditions.
It meant the vehicle could rise and drop with the road surface, ensuring a smooth and less bumpy ride, and take corners effortlessly.
But the revolutionary Lotus was just too advanced for its own good, with costs and a lack of expertise at the time believed to be why it never went into mass production.
Now, one iconic car has now emerged for sale 40 years after it was saved from the scrapheap.
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As well as being test driven in a 1983 episode of Top Gear, this specific motor also appeared on the BBC innovation show Tomorrow's World.
It is coming up for sale with Anglia Car Auctions of King's Lynn for £120,000.
The research car was left to languish in a hangar at Lotus HQ in Hethel, Norfolk, before being condemned for scrap.
But an unknown employee couldn't bring himself to destroy it and kept hiding it from his bosses at the Lotus engineering works.
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The senior management later changed their minds and decided to put the black Lotus on display until the firm sold it on in 2016.
The car has been extensively restored by its current owner, with the work costing £60,000.
Despite being 41 years old the Lotus has only done 6,492 miles.
And the classic car boasts a 2.2Litre four cylinder engine and 200bhp.
It has red leather seats and red interior along with the now-dated computer control panel on the dashboard to operate the active suspension.
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Being sold with it is a copy of Car Magazine from November 1983 featuring the Lotus.
Today, active suspension systems come as standard in high end cars such as the Audi RS6.
Freddie Knight, of Anglia Car Auctions, said: "This Lotus Esprit was a pre-production car that was loaned to the managing director of DeLorean and when it was returned to Lotus it was used as an experimental car for this revolutionary active suspension system.
"The idea was to have an onboard computer constantly adjusting the suspension depending on the conditions.
"Modern cars have an active suspension system which you can control via a computer but this was 1983. It was way ahead of its time. In fact it was too advanced for its time and the costs and the expertise to roll this out as a production car just weren't available then.
"The Lotus Esprit is such an iconic car and will always be associated with James Bond but this is a truly unique version.
"The control panel and suspension haven't been functional for many years but that car runs and drives well."
The sale takes place on January 27.
After the success of the submersible James Bond Esprit in 1977, Lotus was brought in once again to supply 007’s transportation for the 1981 film Your Eyes Only.
Like a true Lotus, the Esprit Turbo weighed approximately 2523 lb (1147kg).
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This allowed for, what was then, supercar performance with 0-62mph in sub-5sec and a 154mph top speed – if the conditions were right.
Lotus made a total of 10,675 Esprits over a 28-year period, 2274 of those were Turbos.
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