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Welcome to a very special edition of Top Steer, devoted to that working man's ideal of the performance sports car, the Lotus Esprit Turbo. The pin-up that hangs above every adolescent male's bed, the starry-eyed dream of Essex Man, that obligatory symbol of status that comes in every available colour, as long as it's red.

Plush in the interior, with every conceivable extra, and leather seats you could melt into, the Esprit is as cuddly as a kitten, with the heart of a tiger. Supplying 364 brake horsepower, with a satisfyingly illegal max speed of 140mph, the Esprit is a car that demands respect. A thought made all the more sobering with a pouncing 0-60mph performed in 4.7 seconds. With that sort of power, you have to be the sort of person who either lives life on the edge, or has a good understanding with the local magistrate. Let's take it for a spin...

Breaking the speed limit is fun on your own, but ten times better if some other goon is prepared to dash from the lights with you. It can't be often that two Esprits come across one another, but Lotus II lets you play head-to-head games. This mode is played over a horizontally split screen. In the time option, both are aiming to qualify separately.

This is a direct sequel to Lotus Turbo Challenge, released earlier this year on Megadrive.

In mode 1 the object is to win the race. In the time trial mode, stages must be completed within a time limit. Speed is the key.

Unfortunately for Lotus II, Domark pushed out F1 before it and I'm afraid the former just doesn't stand up against it. Graphically this is better than the prequel and it's faster with more tracks, obstacles and driving conditions - I particularly like the construction kit which allows you to customise your tracks for maximum (or minimum if you're a bit of a girl's blouse) challenge.

One of my main quibbles with this game (although EA can't be blamed because it's a condition of the licence) is that there no crashes - whoever heard of a racing game without this fundamental perk.

All in all, this one is in some ways better than the first Lotus so if you liked that one you'll probably like this. I, however, didn't.

I'm not that badly inclined to Lotus II. From the outside, it would appear to be an improved version of the year-old original. The constructor is there, the blockiness of the graphics has been smoothed, there are more courses and more driving conditions.

However, two things mar the good work. The on-screen concept is beginning to look a little dated, with young upstarts like Domark's F1 giving a better impression of speed. Secondly, the racing just doesn't seem as good.

Most of the courses are as exciting as driving along the A1 (with moronic traffic to match). With the bizarre makeshift 'constructor' option, it looks like the default courses were made randomly after the game engine was formed. Nothing memorable here at all.

Presentation 86%
P. Lots of options, and nicely presented. Pics of the cars are really impressive.
N. The constructor option is not fully fledged.

Graphics 72%
P. Fast movement for one player. Nice car sprites, and some nice scenery ideas.
N. Some of the backgrounds look pretty scrappy, and the game has no visual excitement.

Sound 75%
P. The four tracks cover a range of musical styles, from rock to techno.
N. The engine noise is very poor: we are driving a Lotus, lads!

Playability 74%
P. Pleasant enough to play, though the main enjoyment is two-player time trial mode.
N. Racing randomised courses doesn't seem much fun. Infinite variety isn't endless choice.

Lastability 67%
P. The randomised option offers months of new courses, at all levels of difficulty.
N. Once the profile has been worked out, even the hardest terrain proves easy.

Overall 73%
A distinctly underwhelming sequel. Technically, it's not too bad, but the soul of this beast of a car is missing from Lotus II.