I remember the first time I sat behind the wheel of an Esprit - that distinctive wedge shape, the throaty exhaust note, and the immediate sense that I was about to experience something extraordinary. There's something magical about sports cars beginning with E, a certain elegance and excitement that sets them apart from the crowd. Throughout my years covering the automotive industry and testing countless vehicles, I've developed a particular fondness for these E-badged marvels that combine performance with personality in ways that often surprise even seasoned enthusiasts.
Let me start with the car that probably comes to most people's minds first - the Lotus Esprit. I've driven various iterations over the years, but the Series 1 from 1976 remains my personal favorite. That Giugiaro-designed wedge shape still looks radical today, and the mid-engine layout provided handling characteristics that felt genuinely revolutionary for its time. The early models produced around 140 horsepower from their 2.0-liter engines, which doesn't sound like much until you consider the car weighed just over 2,000 pounds. Driving one feels like piloting a go-kart that just happened to graduate from engineering school - direct, responsive, and utterly transparent in its communication. The Esprit proves that sports cars aren't just about raw power but about the purity of the driving experience.
Then there's the E-Type Jaguar, the car Enzo Ferrari famously called "the most beautiful car ever made." I've been fortunate enough to drive several examples, including a pristine 1961 3.8-liter roadster that belongs to a collector friend. The way that straight-six engine builds power, the precise yet comfortable steering, and those gorgeous curves create an experience that's both visceral and artistic. The Series 1 E-Type could accelerate from 0-60 mph in about 6.7 seconds and reach 150 mph - staggering performance for 1961 at a price that undercut competitors by significant margins. What continues to amaze me is how modern the E-Type feels to drive, despite being over sixty years old in its earliest forms.
Moving to more contemporary options, the BMW E92 M3 represents what I consider one of the last truly analog high-performance sports cars. I owned a 2008 model for three years and put nearly 40,000 miles on it, experiencing everything from track days to cross-country road trips. That 4.0-liter V8 producing 414 horsepower revved to an incredible 8,300 RPM, delivering power in a linear, building wave that modern turbocharged engines simply can't replicate. The steering provided perfect weight and feedback, the chassis balanced neutrality with playful adjustability, and the overall package felt special in ways that current M cars have somewhat lost in pursuit of numbers and technology.
The Eagle Speedster deserves mention for taking something wonderful and making it even more special. Based on the Jaguar E-Type but completely reengineered and hand-built, each Speedster costs around $700,000 and represents what the E-Type might have become if development had continued. I spent an afternoon driving one through winding coastal roads last year, and the experience bordered on spiritual. The attention to detail, the quality of materials, and the enhanced performance create what I'd describe as automotive jewelry - beautiful, functional, and exceptionally rare.
Now, the Elfin MS8 might be less familiar to readers outside Australia, but this locally-produced sports car punches well above its weight. I tested one at Phillip Island Circuit back in 2015, and the lightweight construction combined with a 3.5-liter V6 producing 350 horsepower created track performance that embarrassed cars costing three times as much. The Elfin reminded me that sometimes the best sports cars come from small manufacturers with big ideas and nothing to lose.
The Eagle Talon often gets overlooked in conversations about great sports cars, but the all-wheel-drive TSi AWD version I owned in the late 90s demonstrated how advanced turbocharging and all-wheel-drive technology could create astonishing performance for reasonable money. That 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder produced 210 horsepower in 1995 models, launching the car to 60 mph in under 6 seconds. What made the Talon special wasn't just the numbers but the way it made advanced performance technology accessible to enthusiasts who couldn't afford European exotics.
Finally, the Exomotive Exocet takes the sports car concept to its logical extreme - a minimalist roadster based on Mazda Miata components that weighs just 1,500 pounds. I built one with a friend over six months, and the process taught me more about vehicle dynamics than any professional driving course. The Exocet proves that sometimes removing everything non-essential creates the purest sports car experience, even if you arrive at your destination with windblown hair and bugs in your teeth.
Reflecting on these seven exceptional sports cars, I'm struck by how each represents a different approach to the same fundamental goal - creating emotional connection through mechanical excellence. Whether it's the hand-built perfection of the Eagle Speedster or the accessible performance of the Eagle Talon, these E-badged sports cars demonstrate that the alphabet can be just as important as the engineering in creating memorable driving experiences. They've provided some of my most cherished automotive memories and continue to represent what makes sports cars special in an increasingly homogenized automotive landscape.
