1972 Lotus EUROPA SPECIAL

STOCK # 2983 Art

THIS 1972 LOTUS EUROPA SPECIAL IS LOKATED IN: TULSA, OK 74107

The Lotus Europa name is used on two distinct mid-engine GT cars built by British automobile manufacturer Lotus Cars. The original Europa and its variants comprise the Lotus Types 46, 47, 54, 65 and 74, and were produced between 1966 and 1975.

The name was later revived in the Type 121 Europa S, a sports car based on the Lotus Elise produced from 2006 to 2010.

Europa (1966–1975)

By the mid-1960s, the mid-engine vehicle configuration was well-established as the optimal design for Grand Prix cars, however almost no road vehicles yet used this arrangement. Lotus planned the Europa to be a volume-produced, two-seater mid-engine sports coupe built to reasonable cost, quite an ambitious goal for the time. Like all Lotus vehicles of the era, the Europa was designed and built following Chapman's oft-stated philosophy of automotive design: "Simplify, then add lightness". To this end, a number of ingenious design approaches were made by Lotus to allow it to economically overcome the many challenges presented by the novel mid-engine arrangement.

Production of the original Lotus Europa ceased in 1975, with a total of 9,230 cars of all models having been built.

Specials

Throughout its life, the Europa attracted the attention of many Lotus and non-Lotus automotive customising businesses who offered "special" versions in small numbers to the public. Among these was the Swiss Lotus importer, who made two special versions of the S2 fitted with the Renault 16 TS type 807 engine, the "Europa Hemi 807" and the fuel injected "Europa Black Shadow 807". The Hemi 807 had 105 PS (77 kW) SAE and could attain a speed of 200 km/h (124 mph), while the Black Shadow had power output of 137 PS (101 kW). The Black Shadow also received a five-speed gearbox. These cars had a wider track, special wheels and stickers, white indicator lights up front, and featured extractor vents high on the side panel behind the rear door. The fuel injection system was from Kugelfischer. In 1971 two Lotus Hemi were entered as Group 4 GTS at the international hill climb race St. Ursanne Les Rangiers and Ollon-Villars driven by the Swiss divers Oskar Bubeck and Alfons Tresch.

Chip Foose the famous automobile pioneer of United States also modified and restored a Lotus Europa for Episode 6 of the season 11 of his popular show "Overhaulin'". It was one of the most time-consuming and complicated build of the show, where a brand new 1.8 litre four cylinder engine from an Elise was fitted into the car, while the power is handled by Porsche Boxster transmission. The bumpers were also tucked in signature Foose style.

in 1972, a Bristol based company called GS Cars has produced a variant of the Lotus Europa. This version is based on the standard Lotus Europa Twin Cam, but has new bodywork which bears some resemblance to the Maserati Merak. The GS Lotus Europa was limited to 17 units. However, only 5 are known to still exist.

1972 LOTUS EUROPA SPECIAL

CLEAN TITLE IN HAND
95 CI TWIN CAM LOTUS 4-CYLINDER ENGINE
TWIN STROMBERG SIDEDRAFT CARBURETORS
4-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION
FINISHED IN CREAM WITH BLACK INTERIOR
WOODGRAIN DASH AND CONSOLE ACCENTS
POWER WINDOWS
SMITHS INSTRUMENTS
CASSETTE STEREO
THIN-CREASED 8-SPOKE WHEELS
AMBER FOG LAMPS
NOT RUNNING DUE TO SITTING FOR A FEW YEARS, THE MOTOR TURNS FREELY

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO OWN THIS GREAT CLASSIC!