I have been lucky enough to have three different lotus europa's in my life! First one was my father's which was a full on race version I don't know what year it was based on had a Cause worth twin cam and I don't remember who's transaxle. The second one was pretty much a stock 70 with a Renault running gear however the motor was quite massaged! It was actually the first vehicle I actually drove as a very young child being quite tall for my age at that time. I fell in love with those little cars. The third one was during the mid-70s while I was in the military my roommate came home with one on a trailer with no motor. 2 weeks later he comes home with a totaled rx4 Mazda rotary you know what happened to the motor out of the Mazda! What a little rocket ship.! It was incredible once you put new shocks and dialed the suspension in with some decent tires it was just a Go-Kart with a body with that rotary motor pumping out over 260 horsepower and almost 225 ft pounds of torque it was incredible thank you for the video bye
At the end of the day, with all things said, Lotus has always been my favorite marque since I owned, frame-off restored, and totaled, and lived to tell about it, a Twin-Cam Big Valve Europa. I have never met a Lotus I did not like, which of course, is the result of design and build with full intent. Some may be better than others, but with Colin's blessing, all Lotus Cars, including F1, exude my full and complete confidence. - What a man, what a pedigree! -- I happened to attend the day of celebration and honor for Colin Chapman's work at the factory in '83 or so. Cars and owners attended from all over the UK and Europe. What were the odds?
The greatest British designer and a great marque. Shame the Grand Prix team as it was has gone. The 79 was a beauty. The best handling cars on the planet, wish the Esprit was still with us.
Owned Lotus Europe (twin cam) in the early '70's (JPS). had a couple of Elan Sprints during that time but liked he body style of the Europa much better. Europa was years ahead of it's time. Where ever we parked we always came back to a crowd around the car. Wish I had kept a couple of them.
I own a 1970 Europa S2. I don't have to stop for gas often but when I do it can take half an hour to get the car filled, answer all the questions, sometimes pause for photographs and eventually drive away. When I had my 1965 Elan S2 no one bothered me. The Elan was great but the Europa is better.
It states here there were no instructions for assembling the 7 as they weren't allowed by regulations. I have heard elsewhere that DISassembly instructions were given and you read them backwards. May be untrue. Either way, Chapman was as slippery as an eel.
Interesting program. But a program on Lotus that doesn't mention the great Jim Clark, '63, '65 World Champion and Chapman's favorite F1 driver (skipping around him), or Chapman's innovation of ground effects & Mario Andretti's '78 F1 Champion! Was good to see/hear the owners enthusiams for their Elite, 7, Elan, Esprit.
It is the car of my dreams I have been persuading 23. I do not know if I will get it one day, I hope very soon that it would be time that I am already 46 years old.
They actively sought outside contracts to which their experience and expertise could be applied to the mutual benefit of the associate company and Lotus.
I hate it when people say Guigario instead of Guigiaro. There's no I in front of the O. The Lotus guy pronounces it well and the owner keeps on going wrong.
Europa's are quite intriguing. The my father had a white S2. 1495cc. The US federalized version just had a steel bumper bolted to the fiberglass nose to meet standards. The front end was also raised in some fashion for the same reason. Door pins seemed to be a problem. Still undeniably the world's best cornering bathtub...
Lotus did not jump from Elan to Esprit. The only mention in this lame Lotus 'history' of the Europa models is that Guigario offered to do a design based upon the Europa concept. Surely a history of Lotus has to include the first high volume mid-engined car that was conceived as a Le Mans car for Ford Motors. Chapman wanted to build an efficient lightweight but Ford wanted a V8 powered Ferrari 'killer'. Eric Broadly at Lola got the deal that went on to become the very successful Fort GT40. Chapman powered his GT with the Renault 16 engine. If any Lotus is the technical successor to the handsome but expensive GRP monocoque Elite it must be the Europa. The Elan was cheap and cheerful built like the VW based Myers beach buggy. The Europa was built to be a car for Europe that could be serviced across the continent at any Renault dealer. Sadly Renault declined to sell Chapman the more powerful cross flow hemi head 16TS engines at a price he could afford. They were as powerful as the Lotus developed Ford based Twin cam engines employed later and easier to service. This is not a 'history' of Lotus without some coverage of the milestone Europa S1, S2, Twin Cam and Specials.
Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious Having owned 3 of these shit buckets, I know this all too well. These were modern models, also. Cheap, nasty build quality and way over priced. Spend less money for a BMW M3 or M2 and it'll blow the doors off any of them and be more comfortable doing so. Don't get me started on the plastic, clunky interior, either.
@@mreuropa88 Laughing On Turns, Ultimate Stress-reliever. I’m on my second Lotus, neither have really missed a beat. Lost no money on the first one after six years. I also have a BMW. Harsh, harsh ride. Would rather go down a rough road in the Lotus. Can’t think of a BMW £ for £ that would hold a candle to a Lotus in terms of driving pleasure. For a daily driver, most cars are better, but if that’s your point, your missing the point!
