Besides Julia Roberts’ boots and Richard Gere’s state-of-the-period-art brick cellphone, one of the most memorable props from “Pretty Woman” had to be the Lotus Esprit that Gere borrows from Jason Alexander to get away from a party when his limo is buried in the parking lot. He stops to ask a hooker for directions and she hops in to show him “personal.” After futzing with the British exotic’s transmission, Gere turns over the reins and lets Julia drive the Esprit. While uttering phrases like “standard H-pattern” and “it corners like it’s on rails,” gearheads by the thousands fell for the blond-wigged prostitute with a heart of gold.
And now, you can actually relive that classic bit of movie magic for yourself. No, we’re not recommending cruising for help with your “stick shift” on Hollywood Blvd. You see, the very same Lotus that they used in the movie is now listed on Hemmings for the bargain basement price of just $54,998. Well, color me happy! The car has been at the Volo Auto Museum in Volo, Illinois but is now for sale. It’s a 1990 Lotus Esprit SE, but evidently it somehow got titled as an '89. It has a turbo four-cylinder that gets it from 0-60 in a scant 4.7 seconds and doesn’t stop pushing until the car reaches 165 mph. It’s one of just 324 Loti sold in the States in 1990 and the only one used in the movie. It currently has 23k miles on the clock and even comes with a letter of authenticity from Lotus. There’s a longer description over at Hemmings and just to jog your memory, we’ve included a “Pretty Woman” trailer after the jump that features the Lotus in the first 40 seconds. Thanks for the tip, Corey!