Colin Chapman's Lotus Esprit is up for sale.

A Lotus Esprit once owned by founder Colin Chapman is for sale through British dealer Mark Donaldson.

As Motor Sport details, the car is a 1981 Series 3 turbo model with Chapman-specified modifications, including power steering and a pollen filter to alleviate hay fever. According to the seller, the car rides on a lowered suspension and has bodywork modifications to reduce wind noise.

The car is one of approximately 143 Turbo Esprites with a dry-sump engine oil system on the engine and is blue-printed.

Chapman's car is a 1980s throwback with "Turbo Esprit" graphics and stripes, a red pleated interior, and a roof mounted Panasonic RM 610 stereo.

Besides Chapman, the Esprit had at least one other prominent driver: in August 1981, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher drove it briefly around Norfolk Airport with Chapman in the passenger seat. Thatcher said the car was "a pleasure to drive,"

the local Eastern Daily Press reported at the time.

The car may have also been driven by Lotus F1 driver Elio de Angelis, but the seller noted that only anecdotal evidence supports this. A magazine article from the time stated that, aside from race cars, the only Lotus driven by de Angelis was Chapman's "modified Esprit Turbo."

According to the seller, Chapman drove the Esprit for approximately 4,500 miles before his death in December 1982. It has changed owners several times since then, but the seller states that it still has only 10,977 miles on it and is in nearly original condition.

The asking price, based on current exchange rates, is $124,000, about twice that of a typical Series 3 Esprit Turbo, according to Motor Sport. The seller believes that the Chapman connection and the originality of the car justify the price increase.

The Esprit ceased production in the early 2000s, and a planned new model was cancelled in 2014. Lotus is reportedly planning a spiritual successor to the Esprit, which could debut in early 2021.