Agreed on the S4 Esprits being better than the V8.
Its a 7 year old car, look at mercedes S-classes, BMW 7s, everything looses massive amounts of its value in that time.
I have looked at esprits several times, I would consider one when I have the money. Kind of like a good fiero, that or an NSX. Personally I like the lotus better. Why are people worried about parts? MAG is a lotus dealer and lotus is still in business. The esprit was in production for over 30 years. There are clubs, aftermarket, reproductions, etc. Parts would be the least of my worries. People like to be scared on parts for european cars, I bought a 23 year old Benz, and a diesel at that. I have no issues getting parts and even paying main dealer prices isn't bad.