Europa an Unusual Success for Lotus Malcolm GUNN in 1966

34 Driver’s Seat WWW.PGCITIZEN.CA | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2016 HANDOUT PHOTO The Lotus Europa was a tiny car that weighed in at just 600 kilograms, or half the weight of a Mazda Miata. Despite this, early models were slower than molasses due to a 78-horsepower engine. Europa an unusual success for Lotus Malcolm GUNN in 1966. Physically, it defied description sion and direct steering were really the provements. www.wheelbasemedia.com and baffled fans and critics alike. Europa’s strong points. In designing the car, As for power, or rather the lack of it, a fix Between the front bumper and the doors, Chapman stuck to his tried-and true one- came in 1971 in the form of a Ford-Cortina- it was pure sports car, but behind the seats, piece backbone chassis used in previous based 1.6-litre twin-cam engine that origi- It seems impossible that this weird- the design went off track, prompting some Lotus models that helped keep the Europa’s nally produced 105 horsepower but was looking junior-sized sports car with a Lotus to refer to the Europa’s slab sides and flat centre of gravity close to Mother Earth. quickly updated to 126 ponies. badge and tepid Renault engine could have rear deck that extended out behind a nar- However, the size and shape of the chas- Zero-to-60 mph (96 km/h) times dropped been popular. In any way. row ribbon of rear window as possessing sis also severely restricted cabin space. Tall by more than two seconds, weekend club But its mid-engine design (between the appearance of a flattened bread van. and/or wide passengers had practically no racers rejoiced and the marque’s purists the passenger compartment and the rear The lack of decent luggage space or even hope of ever entering the car’s claustropho- were relieved that finally a “proper” Lotus wheels), spectacular driving characteristics roll-down windows also created public bic confines. engine and five-speed manual gearbox had and reasonable price made it a vital revenue consternation. The Europa’s plastic shell was bonded found their way into the Europa’s engine producer that kept Lotus afloat and helped The gossip never bothered Chapman. The (glued) to the chassis to further keep the bay. fuel the company’s thirst for racing. car looked the way it did for a reason, and weight down. Unfortunately, this approach By the time the Europa was retired in Colin Chapman, visionary founder and that was to conceal the French-built 1.5-li- made repairing damaged body panels a 1974, more than 9,200 had been produced. chief engineer for Lotus Cars of England, tre four-cylinder engine and four-speed chore, so bolts were eventually substituted. That wasn’t enough to worry mainstream was never one to follow convention and the manual transaxle originally developed for Initially, the arrangement with Renault manufacturers, but it was certainly a suc- wide range of sports cars he produced over the front-wheel-drive Renault 16. gave the French automaker exclusive cess story by Lotus standards. the years reflected this fact. For the Europa’s application, the entire rights to sell the original Series I Europa in As one of the first mass-produced mid- Although most of his creations were tech- powertrain was positioned lengthwise Europe. engine sports cars, the Europa broke new nically superior to anything else being built, directly behind the seats and ahead of the However, by 1969, Chapman was able engineering ground and its low price they tended to be poorly assembled and rear axle. to market his mid-engine marvel, by then (around $4,600) kept it within range of a usually required frequent and expensive It developed a modest 78 horsepower upgraded to Series II status with a larger wider group of buyers. maintenance to keep them roadworthy. and even though it had just 600 kilograms version of the Renault 16 engine, to the The Lotus models that followed, even Still, Chapman enjoyed near cult status to push around, the Europa lumbered to 60 rest of the world, specifically the sports-car- after Colin Chapman’s death in 1982, were, among long-suffering, but fiercely loyal Lo- mph (96 km/h) from rest at about the same hungry North American market. and continue to be, geared to more upscale tus owners who put up with just about any pace as today’s economy cars. The Europa S2 was available in Great Brit- enthusiasts. inconvenience for the driving thrills that However, it was enough to keep most ain as an unassembled kit car (similar to the Malcolm Gunn is a feature writer with their none-too-trusty steeds delivered. buyers sufficiently entertained. bare-bones-basic Lotus Super 7 roadster) to Wheelbase Media. He can be reached on the The Lotus boss had primarily focused on The fact that the driver’s backside practi- avoid the country’s onerous purchase taxes. Web at www.theoctanelounge.com by using open-top roadsters in the 1950s and ’60s, cally scraped the ground helped create the As a bow to convention and to satisfy the contact link. Wheelbase supplies automo- but undertook a completely different direc- illusion of sportiness. the export market, the car featured power tive news and features to newspapers across tion with the Europa, which was launched In any event, the Europa’s precise suspen- windows and other minor comfort im- North America..

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