Any Lotus Europa owners here?

[ramonesfreak]

The wife has given me the green light to buy another old car so long as it’s British. The Europa is a favorite of mine and she saw one in person a few weeks back at Watkins Glen and loved it. Lucky me.

Assuming I don’t buy one of the other cars on my list (TR3A, MGA MkIi, GT6) I’ll be looking for a twin cam…as close to perfect as possible. No projects

I’m curious if any of you own or have owned one and what your experience was/is like.

[matthewb0051]

They just did one on Wheeler Dealers this week. Turned out very nice.

The only concern was it is pretty small inside. I don't think Mike ever got in it, but his waist is easily 44 or 45 inches

[ramonesfreak]

I just noticed that pop up in my YouTube feed 5 minutes ago and am about to watch it

[Tobra]

I wish

Saw one at an autocross that had a B18C Honda drivetrain in it with about 200 hp. It was, astounding.

[Daves911L]

Owned one about 25 years ago. Pistachio green '72 S2. One of the most fun cars I've ever had. I miss it still. Completely impractical. I walked home more than once. But so much fun. For some reason my wife hated it with a passion. She called it the bastard offspring of a Spitfire raped by an El Camino. I sold it in the interests of marital bliss. Possibly a mistake.....

[dafischer]

Originally Posted by Daves911L

She called it the bastard offspring of a Spitfire raped by an El Camino.

You owe me a new keyboard.

[Steve Carlton]

'85 El Camino?

[gchappel]

Drove one several times in an autocross many many years ago.
Still the most amazing car I ever drove.
Reminds me of a gokart.
I am jealous- go for it.
gary

[URY914]

Friend had a JPS Edition. Ever notice the how the door window frame doesn't fit tight against the roof? Never understood why this was never corrected.

[ramonesfreak]

I did notice. The frame and glass have a curve. Looks odd and doesn’t seem to be a reason for it but one of many quirks with these. Have a Europa book coming which maybe will explain why this is…i see how the frame and glass follow the curve of the door but not sure why the frame doesn’t actually fit right on any of these

Then again how many elans were knowingly sold with the wrong size doors

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by gchappel

Drove one several times in an autocross many many years ago.
Still the most amazing car I ever drove.
Reminds me of a gokart.
I am jealous- go for it.
gary

If I can find one nice enough. I would have bought this one had I been in the market

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-lotus-europa-6/

Why he went through all this trouble and didn’t repair the odometer is odd but otherwise wow

This one is amazing…I keep hoping to see it for sale again
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1973-lotus-europa-special-3/

[Seahawk]

My Dad bought one new in 1967 from a dealer in, I think, Long Beach.

It was white with the Renault engine. He sold it when I was 16 in 1973...probably a good move since we were moving to South Carolina.

It was his therapy car. He drove the coastal mountain roads around Southern California all the time since we lived near Hidden Valley.

I drove it once with him, never solo'ed. Again, probably a good move

Good luck!

[ramonesfreak]

Cool. Wonder where that car is now. Like many of them, probably has a tree growing up through it in someone’s backyard

[Alansglide]

I owned a 72 Europa and raced it for a few years. If you do buy one try to get a 72 -75. The body changed particularly the ridges or walls from the cockpit back were lowered making it look better and more importantly they changed to the Climax big valve engine in 72. More HP and a better all around power band.
One interesting side note because of the door curve the power windows only came down half way . Best handling car I've ever driven. If memory serves it was 42 inches high at the roof line and 68 inches wide. Was single at the time and every girl I dated disliked being inside due to the cramped interior but I loved it. Can't stress enough how much fun that car was to drive.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by ramonesfreak

Cool. Wonder where that car is now. Like many of them, probably has a tree growing up through it in someone’s backyard

My oldest Sister was a senior at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks at the time and my Dad sold it to her then BF...so yeah, either it was wrapped around a tree or one is growing through it.

Again, he loved that car. He was mainly a British car guy but he always had a fun car...Double Bubble Coupe, 356, etc. He bought a Super 7 after my Mom died and kept it at the farm. I think I rode with him once in that thing and decided that having my head above the roll bar probably wasn't a good thing

The Europa was by far his favorite.

[URY914]

I think Car & Driver did a test of radar dictation for cars and the Europa scored best.

[ramonesfreak]

I much prefer the look of the early high back model but prefer the later car with twin cam and for sure not one of the body bonded to frame models unless i had money and skill to burn

i wonder why Superformance doesn't make a Europa...$$ I guess. not worth it to them to tool up... but they already have fiberglass body maker/ supplier and etc...Spyder chassis or make their own. i guess why spend $80K on a replica when for that you can rebuild any original. its one thing if its a Cobra or GT40 which is not obtainable to most people. If they could sell one for $40K ide really consider it

[MikeSid]

If you haven't already, you need to watch the car chase scene from "11 Harrowhouse." Candice Bergen drives an Europa.

[matthewb0051]

I'm sort of partial to the Lotus Elan Plus 2. The Salvage Hunters show did one and painted it in a factory Ice Blue paint (car was originally red which didn't look good). Here's one in that color.

[ramonesfreak]

Love the plus 2. Have yet to see one in nice enough shape that I would buy one but I do keep an eye on them all the time.