December 2015 Classic&SportsCar 197Price watchLotus Europa
MightyAmericanmuscle
“Five-speedSpecialsare the Europathat mostpeoplewant,with black
and gold paintbeingthe ultimate,” reckons Paul Matty(www.paulmatty
sportscars.co.uk).“They’re still a littleway off Elan values,but a perfect
one, recentlyrestoredon a galvanisedchassis,mightnudge£40k.”
A lot of cars were sold to the Far East beforethe financialcrash: “Japan
probablyaccountedfor 75%of our Europasalesat one point.Whenthe
Japaneseeconomyfell over, pricesfroze.They didn’treallyfall, because
historicracing now seemsto be the future.They’re greaton circuits.”
Expectto pay £15,000even for a poor Specialneedinga thorough
restoration:“Twin Cams[105bhp
to the Special’s 126] top out at
£35,000but the Series2 has seen
a real resurgencein the past 12
months,probablybecauseof
racing. One that’s spot-onwill be
£30know and even projectswon’t
generally be less than £10,000.”
EarlySeries1s, wherethe bodywas bondedto the steelchassis,are
now very rare: “Mosthave goneinto racing. You’ll need£35kfor a really
nice one.” Of the 9230Europasbuilt,approximately 4260 used Renault
power, with the changeto the LotusTwin Cam occurringin October1971.
By far the biggestmoney still goes on the Europa-basedType 47 race
cars: “They’re all accountedfor, so thereare no projectsout there.With
impeccablehistoryand in top condition,they can fetch£150-£200,000.”
Whileoutwardlysimilar, however, they were very differentunderthe skin.Asyou’dexpectfromLotus,theEuropais a finehandlingcarandmakes a greatracer‘EarlySeries1s,where
thebodywasbondedto
thesteelchassis,arenow
veryrare.You’llneed
£35kfora niceone’
1974 EuropaSpecialJPS£37,950
Afive-speedJPS car that was totally
reconditionedto exactingstandards
by marquespecialistPeterDay. It
has covered
only anominal
mileagesince
01527
835656 (t)1971 EuropaS2£14,995
This 43,000-mileBahamaYellowS2
had a£10kmechanicalrebuildin
2000 with fewmilessincethen.
Recentservice
and good body
but the paintis
tired 01227
728190 (t)MARANELLORETURNS
If financialgain is whatdrives
your interestin classicFerraris
(we hopeit’s not), Red Blossoms
can provide a reportdetailing
whichare the mostpromising
investments.See redblossoms.nlAstonMartinhas announcedthe
introductionof a certification
scheme.Run by the Works
division,AssuredProvenance
will provide confirmationof an
individualcar’s correctness,and
encompassesfactory-modified
as well as originalexamples.
Vehiclesare assessedat the
NewportPagnellrestoration
and servicefacility,wherethey
undergoa thoroughvisualand
mechanicalexaminationthat
includes3D scanning.The
resultsare then assessedby
a SanctioningCommittee.
Ownersof authenticated
cars will receive a hand-crafted
presentationcase includinga
photographicrecord,certificate
and a digitalcopy of the data,
plus dashboardand sill plaques.
The schemeis subjectto a
£4000assessmentfee, plus a
further£6000if the outcomeof
the inspectionis favourable.WHATPRICEORIGINALITY?
Excellentexamplesof the
CitroënGSA are hardlycommon,
but PallasAuto(01322837001)
has whatmustbe the finest
available.The one-ownerRHD car
has covered only 7050milesand
is surelyunique.Offersover £8k.SPACE ANDPACEAPLENTY
FancyaV12 load-luggerbut not
keen on the PantherDaytona’s
styling?DK Engineering(01923
287687)is offeringChinetti’s
Ferrari 330 Vignale,whileNuvola
(020 76033900)has this lovely
JaguarXJS-basedLynx Eventer.Authenticity
guaranteed
In the rarefiedworldof hypercars,
few offerquitethe wow-factorof
the Vector W8. Boastinga 625bhp,
twin-turbo5972ccChevroletV8,
the statesidemonsterwas goodfor
a 0-60mphdash of just 3.8 secs and,
accordingto the manufacturer,
couldhit a top speedof 218mph.
Impressivefigures,even today.The
W8wasalsopossiblyunique
amongsupercarsin beingfitted
with a three-speedautomaticgear-
box – it was American, after all.
The firm encounteredfinancial
difficultiesas the marketwentinto
meltdownin the early’90s,mean-
ing that ameagre17 cars werebuilt.
Unsurprisingly, they don’t cropup
for sale that oftenbut if youfancy
one, this two-owner, 700km-from-
newexamplelooksthe business.You cancontactthe German
vendoron 0049 7334969710 or by
e-mailat [email protected]Fromtop:car’s stylingis
guaranteedto turnheads;
KnightRiderdash;bigV8
promiseshugetorque