Turbo Esprit was the first free-roaming driving game,[1] and has been cited as a major influence on the later Grand Theft Auto series.

[2][3][4] The object of the game is to prevent a gang of drug smugglers completing a delivery of heroin, by tracking down their cars and destroying them, or ramming them into submission.

The player takes the role of a special agent driving the titular Lotus Esprit car, which had been used in a James Bond film a few years previously.

Additional points are awarded if they are captured alive (by disabling their car rather than destroying it), and if the heroin transfer has taken place (as there is now greater evidence of their crime).

The Spanish version claims it to be set in the city of Manhattan,[7] despite the fact that no changes were made to the game itself, which retains its British-style road markings and driving on the left.

[17] Retro Gamer magazine said of the game: "It was way ahead of its time and it could be argued that what you are looking at here is the genesis of the Grand Theft Auto series", and that it "sealed Durell's reputation as a purveyor of quality software".