My Dad bought one of the first Europa's in California from a dealer in Long Beach...white and I am not completely sure of the engine, a Renault I think.
He loved it and drove the coastal mountains in SoCal quite a bit.
I drove it once. I was 16 and he was selling it for an Abarth Zagato. One last ride and he let me have some seat time. We went through Hidden Valley to Lake Sherwood and into a then sparsely populated West Lake back to 101.
The road around Lake Sherwood was very curvy in those days and at the dam there was a long downhill right hand sweeper past Foxfield, a riding school my sisters rode at.
Even at 16 I was well over 6 ft with wide feet. Coming down the sweeper a car pulled out of Foxfield...I meant to brake but hit both the accelerator and the brake at the same time. I barely missed the car and I didn't ball it up.
"Pull over" was all he said.
We, huh, switched seats at the Junction with Route 23
