My Europa (old)
My Europa (old)
Piccies of my S2 Europa (as requested by Sanjoy). Spyder chassis, R16TS engine (1565cc crossflow), bodywork OK (ish), Wolfrace alloys. Owned 7 years. Photos taken by my phone so not great!
Living with a Europa
Thanks for comments
It only gets out a few times a year. It's essentially a kit car so rattles a lot. Has a problem when it gets hot when trying to restart (I think the electric fan is somehow affecting the starter circuit) - this has caused embarrassment before when stalling. It also shorted the ammeter when I first got the car so smoke issued from the dash!
Handles quite nicely round corners, but I don't tend to drive above about 60-70mph (indicated about 90 on speedo!) due to age and noise. Long gear link to back end can be sticky with all the rose joints but mine seems to be adjusted OK now.
George Best did have a yellow one - I was a real fan of his when I was small and I think that (and the blue Matchbox one I had which my sister still remembers) got me 'hooked'. Would really like a good body job (preferably Gold Leaf colours), so anyone with fibreglass expertise who could teach me out there?
It's an interesting contrast with my 99 Elise to see how Lotus has moved on in 40 years!
Simon
It only gets out a few times a year. It's essentially a kit car so rattles a lot. Has a problem when it gets hot when trying to restart (I think the electric fan is somehow affecting the starter circuit) - this has caused embarrassment before when stalling. It also shorted the ammeter when I first got the car so smoke issued from the dash!
Handles quite nicely round corners, but I don't tend to drive above about 60-70mph (indicated about 90 on speedo!) due to age and noise. Long gear link to back end can be sticky with all the rose joints but mine seems to be adjusted OK now.
George Best did have a yellow one - I was a real fan of his when I was small and I think that (and the blue Matchbox one I had which my sister still remembers) got me 'hooked'. Would really like a good body job (preferably Gold Leaf colours), so anyone with fibreglass expertise who could teach me out there?
It's an interesting contrast with my 99 Elise to see how Lotus has moved on in 40 years!
Simon
It was about '84 when I first got the sniff. Dads friend took me out in his spanking new white Espirit. Neighbours who would never normally leave their gardens (Bearsden) we flooding in to the driveway to pour over it.
The flat raked back windscreen and the speed blew me away.
20+ years later and with the family friend now much older and not in contact with the family since my Dad passed I think it is time I looked him up and repaid the favour.
SP
The flat raked back windscreen and the speed blew me away.
20+ years later and with the family friend now much older and not in contact with the family since my Dad passed I think it is time I looked him up and repaid the favour.
SP
W213 All Terrain
I fell in love with Lotus when I was probably around 10. In the summer, there would sometime be a red Esprit parked round the corner from my house. I guess it was a visitor or perhaps the owner garaged it all winter. I knew nothing about cars, but fell in love with the looks. I couldn't get over the size of the tyres!
Then, when they brought the Elise out, I promised myself I'd own one before I hit the big 3-0. And I've recently just achieved that dream!
Lovely car mate! You can definitely see influences from that on the Elise.
Then, when they brought the Elise out, I promised myself I'd own one before I hit the big 3-0. And I've recently just achieved that dream!
Lovely car mate! You can definitely see influences from that on the Elise.
2009 Mini Cooper, Midnight Black
2008 Elise S, Solar Yellow
2008 Elise S, Solar Yellow
Aw I wanna reminisce too ....
It was the JPS cars inFormula 1 that did it for me mainly. Seemed to have that whole British fighting spirit. Oh and Bond of course (the proper Bond, not the Edinburgh milkman!
- what Scottish person comes out of Eton sounding like that! 
). Millions of other Lotus memories too, a clear one was seeing a BRG Europa tho, an asking me Dad what kind of car it was... "a Lotus son" - Nuff said! 
It was the JPS cars inFormula 1 that did it for me mainly. Seemed to have that whole British fighting spirit. Oh and Bond of course (the proper Bond, not the Edinburgh milkman!
- what Scottish person comes out of Eton sounding like that! ). Millions of other Lotus memories too, a clear one was seeing a BRG Europa tho, an asking me Dad what kind of car it was... "a Lotus son" - Nuff said! Jammy CU NT!Sanjoy wrote:It was about '84 when I first got the sniff. Dads friend took me out in his spanking new white Espirit
S1 50th Ann.
George Best
On a documentary about George Best (that I've got on video somewhere, including some footage of him driving it), that's the car that Bobby Charlton described as 'he had this bloody silly little car - I couldn't even get into it!"
Says something about the style of the two players, eh?
Says something about the style of the two players, eh?
