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T
he latest addition to my fleet
is a Europa, which bookends
my small but growing classic
Lotus road car collection – I
nowownallmyfavouriteLotus
production cars. The collection
starts with a 1961 Lotus Elite,
alwaysa carnearthetopofmy
‘wants’ list both for its design
and its place in the development of
automotive structures. This is followed
closely by my 1962 S2 Lotus Seven, an
iconicdesignbymy measure,andthenmy
fa vouriteeverydaydriverstheS3andS4
fixed-headLotusElans.
The story goesthat the Lotus Europa
designconceptfirstappearedintheearly
Sixties, fr omthe pen of the talented
designerRonHickmanofLotusElanfame.
Whateveritsbeginnings,whentheEuropa
finally reappearedin production form in
1966 it was Chapman’s intention that it
shouldbealow-costreplacementforthe
LotusSeventopropupthelow-endsales
segment.Thebodymouldingwasbonded
directly to the folded steel backbone
chassis,thesidewindowsandseatswere
fixed and there was only rudimentary
interiortrim;powertraincostswerekept
downbyusinga mildly-tunedRenault 16
engine and the Renault transaxle. Even
withitsfuturisticstylingandlowweight,
theEuropainthisS1guisedidn’tsellwell
anditwasonlywhentheheavilyrevised
S2withtheLotustwin-camwaslaunched
that sales picked up. The S2 revisions
included a more premium interior and
adjustableseats,withthesalespricevery
soongrowingtobemoreinlinewithits
fr ont-enginedbrother,theElan.
ForsometimeI hadbeenlookingfora
goodexampleofthetwin-camEuropaS2
andbecauseI didn’t want theJPSlivery
myopportunitiesweresomewhat limited.
Then,afewmonthsago,Lotusspecialist
PaulMattycameuptrumpswithagreat
example with only 20 ,000 miles onthe
clock.Asanaddedbonusthecarwasin
myfavouriteLotusPistachioGreen.I have
seen many Europas over the years, but
whenthis onewas unloaded and rolled
into ourworkshopI couldn’tquitebelieve
how low and squat it looked! Feeding
mysix-foot four-inch frameinto the car
was interesting, but once in there the
ergonomics are quite acceptable if a bit
snug.AllI neededtogetmedrivingwasa
30mmspacerbehindthesteering wheelto
avoidpunching thewindscreenonlock.
I havenowdriventhecartoandfrom
work several times now and it is an
absolutedelight.Thesteeringiseverybit
aslightandcommunicativeastheElan’s,
therideandhandlingare verygoodexcept
foralittle turn-inundersteerandthecar
hasa leveloftautnessthat I thinkisbetter
thantheElan.Thetwin-camis,ofcourse,
as lovely as ever and the gearchange is
very precise and positive fora mid/rear-
enginedcar.Mypreconceivedreservation
about rear visibility through the narrow,
letterboxbulkheadwindowhasprovedto
becompletelyunfounded.
It has turned out to be a welcome
addition– notonly tomycollection,but
to mygrowing list ofdaily drivers. Like
the plus-two Elans, Europa prices have
notreallykeptupwiththeElans.Afterthe
Europa I lostinterest in Lotus roadcars
becausetheylosttheirflairandfocus.
Althoughgettingbehindthewheelof hislatest
classicpurchaserequiresappliedcontortions,
Gordonsaysdrivingit is wellworththeeffort
GordonMurrayisoneof themostinnovative
automotivedesignersof hisgeneration.He
designedGP-winningF1carsforBrabhamand
McLarenandtheMcLarenF1roadcar.
Gordon’s new Europa, in his
favourite colour, low mileage
and a pure delight to drive
Gordon Murray
THE INSIDERS
