In my introduction some time ago I wrote that I started my Lotus career with a Europa S1A. I sold it some years ago when moving house but I always kept a soft spot for the Europa. Especially the S1 with it’s clean and tidy lines. And the ‘no compromise’ design is at least as radical as that of the Exige S1.
Some quick facts:
the Europa (type 46) is designed by Ron Hickman (Lotus Elan) and styling is by John Frayling (Lola GT / Ford GT40)
mid engine layout with an all aluminium engine taken from the Renault 16, 1.5l and 82 bhp
suspension design taken over from the Lotus 18 with the engine/gearbox unit being part of the rear suspension
fixed side windows
bonded-in steel backbone chassis
UFO like appearance with a height of only 107cm / 42 inch
ultra slippery shape with a claimed drag of 0.29 The underside of the car is completely closed and flat.
kerb weight is given with 612kg and that’s with chrome bumpers and a full spare wheel
initially not for sale in the UK and only available in LHD
there is a racing version based on the S1 called the 47
only 300 were built of the very first S1s
Europa S1s are very rare and hard to find. So I couldn’t resist one that was offered in the UK but has been imported from the US. Especially as my Exige project is nearly finished
A deal was arranged with the very friendly seller (Ian Colligan, Bespoke Motor, Boston/USA) and I collected the car together with my ever patient wife two weeks ago from Buckingham (near Milton Keynes).
I’m very happy with the condition of the car as it is fully original with matching chassis, body and engine numbers. All the hard to find S1 parts are still present.
And most importantly: no one ever tried to restore or improve the car. The chassis looks like it might stay in the car which is big plus with a bonded in chassis.
I know that the styling of the Europa is not to everybody’s taste but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for me. Are there any (former) Europa owners around here on exiges.com?
My first Lotus was a Europa Twin Cam in lagoon blue with oatmeal trim. I bought it in 1987 and ran it for 10 years. For the first couple of years it was my daily drive (!!!), before the arrival of a company car meant I could take it off the road for restoration. The car was restored in stages between 1990-1993, including new chassis, bare shell respray, 5 speed gearbox, total engine rebuild, new radiator, fuel tanks, rechroming, wheels back to original black/silver GKN Alloys etc. Basically a new car again.
I sold it in 1997 whilst awaiting delivery of a new S1 Elise. The car was sold to Mike Abbas whom I believed exported it to its new owner in Japan.
My 1st Lotus was a Europa JPS (No. 87). I bought it off the original owner in 1999 and was all original except that he had fitted a glass sunroof. This flew off one day so ended up having to have a new roof panel and so meant a full repaint. When I got it back it was more like a show car and I was reluctant to use then for fear of stone chips
Sold it in 2001 (for more than I paid and it had cost to paint) after only having done 42k miles with only 700 by me.
On my 8th Lotus now (including 3 Exige S1’s).
Klaus,
Thanks for pics and info. You really have the Lotus “bug”. It looks a lovely car…
I think the Europa is a great looking machine. Can’t fault it from a design point of view.
Keep us posted on how it goes.
The Europa was my inspiration to buy and become somewhat besotted with Lotus cars !
Everyday in the early 70s I walked by a beautiful exotic lime green Europa on my way to school and dreamed that one day I’d own a Lotus .
I had to wait awhile but eventually my dream came true and I owe it all to the Lotus Europa !
Maybe one day I’ll own a 1970s Lotus Europa in lime green , now THAT would be a dream come true , best of look with yours , it looks beautiful!
Lovely car! If the chassis is good then you are in luck… I’m sure you know but the bottom of the front cross member is where the chassis will go first - if you put your hand through the big hole in the front of the chassis, you can feel if it is ok…
I’ve had several Europas, uncluding an S1A which I imported into the UK from the USA. I’ve got more modern machinery now (Motorsport Elise and 211) but I still have a Lotus 47 (GT25). One day, when I have a big enough barn, I’d like to have another 46 to park next to it!
Wow, I didn’t expect that many Europa owners stories, very interesting read. Thanks for sharing and all the friendly comments
Jonny, you might be right. Marten is the only one who knows my true identity but he will never tell
@chrisb You own a 47! That’s the secret dream car of every Europa owner, I’m very envious. Many S1 and even S2 have been transformed into 47-lookalikes.
I checked the pictures of GT25 on lotus-europa.com and it is such a beautiful car.
I checked the chassis in the front area and it seems to be alright. But as there is no real choice of S1s available on the market I would have even bought it with a bad chassis.
The picture shows my ex-S1A during restoration in the nineties
Don’t forget the car features the Chapman invented cool air ventilation system using a pressurized plenum chamber at the front of the car. That feeds lots of cool air to the cabin so you won’t miss opening windows at all.
Just don’t get stuck in any sort of traffic or put something into the pressure chamber that serves as the boot as well
