Europa

General General Lotus Talk
1

I know it�s a bit of a dirty word here, but I was just wondering, has anyone actually ever seen one, you know, physically on the road.

Only I�m starting to think (hope) that the whole thing is just kind of a big April fools joke…

David

2

Nah, they definitely exist.

Look better in dark colours and lowered, but still a bit naff.

[image]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pbef839c5f009739c1a99df31daf175e6/ea4d3aad.jpg[/image]

[image]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p433d7cf925f80659eb12b7d87f1948e5/ea4d32c4.jpg[/image]

[image]http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p591ebf1c767047c8dd8660fd79c212c3/ea32efe6.jpg[/image]

3

Yeah, I�ve seen plenty at dealers, Thorny even bought their �Type R� to Brands, but I�ve never actually seen one on the road…

David

4

Yes, I drove one. Other than that I know of 2 people who have bought one (that must be 20% of the UK owners )

5

I have driven one as well. I do like the car and would like to own one. But it is a long was away from the Exige for ride and handling.

I considered changing but I would want one that has had a change of wheels and tyres to give it more grip and Ohlins suspension to sort out the handling.

A small power upgrade of 50-60bhp. It would then be a very good car for fast road touring. But the price would then rule it out for me.

I think that Dark or light colours work best with the panel angles the car has. The mid tone are not as nice at reflecting the light.

6

Only ever seen one on the road (that apperently was one they sold and not just a test drive). That’s been it though…

7

did a testdrive a few weeks ago, car is not that bad after all, liked the turbo very much

but - too expensive, and I don’t like the ‘‘pizza-four-seasons-design’’…

some pix: http://home.datacomm.ch/freepix/lotuseuropa/

8

I have seen a couple and driven one. I like it more in the flesh and would consider one in the future. A new one is a fookin lot of cash for what it is - A slightly bigger Elise VX220 with a poo mono sat nav and actually no more room than either of the aforementioned!

Turbo motor is good fun and certainly enough to get you into bother!

9

I have heard…this may not be true…form a Lotus dealer that Lotus have sold 12 cars the rest are sat aound on dealers forecourts. I must say if you look at the Lotus web site for used cars they do have the same ones for sale that they had at the launch in most cases.

10

Well I have had mine 2 weeks now as the everyday hack…and a 1000 miles into it I have concluded the following…It will never be an exige or elise and yes it would be good with another 30bhp. But its a much more relaxed drive and relatively quiet too!

JohnO

11

I dont think it will ever be a star but looking at the value of some of the ex demos already, I think it my become a bit of a jem in the future cos i think for mid �20k its a bargain.

Gav

12

I dont think it will ever be a star but looking at the value of some of the ex demos already, I think it my become a bit of a jem in the future cos i think for mid �20k its a bargain.

Gav

yep thats just what I was thinking :wink:

13

I thought the Europa was becoming a little like Bin Laden !

Everyone knows about him but no ones actually seen him !

Ex77

14

did a testdrive a few weeks ago()

some pix: > http://home.datacomm.ch/freepix/lotuseuropa/ >

Is that Ligier JS2 the one that was in Auto illustrierte recently? Very cool car for when it was built. Not yours, is it?

To get back on topic, the Exige, or even an Elise, is a fun car � it’s all very much about the grip, handling and rapid response to all driver input. The smoothness of the engine is not really important.

However, for a touring car, a GT, refinement is a significant factor. The Europa simply does not have the comfort or ambience of its envisaged competitors; it does not have the build quality and it has a 4 cylinder engine that may give an adequate power-to-weight ratio, but it doesn’t feel so nice. IMO, it just isn’t pleasant enough to tempt many people from their Boxsters, Caymans, TTs, 350Zs , etc. as Lotus hope.

I enjoy driving my Bemani Exige (despite the relatively unsophisticated, wild, pumped-up 4-cylinder engine) � a fantastic funcar. But I still delight in the silky smoothness of the V6 twin turbo of my 300ZX everytime I start it up and, for a trans-Europe trip, it is certainly the latter that I prefer.

Maybe Lotus are chasing a segment of thew market that doesn’t really exist.

15

did a testdrive a few weeks ago()

some pix: > http://home.datacomm.ch/freepix/lotuseuropa/ >

Is that Ligier JS2 the one that was in > Auto illustrierte > recently? Very cool car for when it was built. Not yours, is it?

It’s not mine don’t know if it is the one that was shown in ‘Auto Illustrierte’ - as far as I know it belongs to Pfenninger (Lotus Dealer). Nice car anyway