Disappearing Europa

[rufusgti]

Hi
Firstly i'm not a Lotus guy, i have always been fond of almost all Lotus designs but I don't know much about the ins and outs of ownership.

One question I do have however. Where have all the Europa cars gone? I know they were never common but i'm a huge fan. I have always loved the idea of a slightly more user friendly lotus. Right now there's none for sale. Ive watched numbers decline over the last 5 years. I would expect these to get tracked/crashed less than say an exige. Right now theres much more classic Europas for sale than late models. Where did these disappear to?

[roger.daltrey]

Less than 100 left in the UK, and current rate of write-offs is at least 1 to 2 every 12months.

Appreciating asset as well, sell in the spring/summer when the price will be higher.

[rufusgti]

Is there any way of finding out how many were registered. Seems a very small number if theres only 100 left. These have always been valuable assets.

[rufusgti]

Wow i just checked production numbers and Lotus only actually made 456 cars, and only 48 SE cars. So it was always actually a rare beast.

[RDMcG]

That is amazing..had no idea of rarity Hopefully we will find some survivors

[roger.daltrey]

Only 100'ish of those 450+ cars were destined for the UK. The rest are overseas in Europa and Asia/Australia (none for the US, didn't meet regs)

Only 4 SE's in the UK - and at least one was just a factory conversion from the S

[Darryl247W]

There's one in the PH classifieds now, but you're right. I'd forgotten about those for my wish-list even as a Lotus fan.

[Turn7]

I drove one, and really preferred it over the Liz/Zige tbh...

Also easy 300bhp available.

If i hadnt bought a 7, then the Europa would be a very close call....

[roger.daltrey]

You'd struggle to get 300hp as engine cooling is its achilles (i.e. the install of rather than the engine itself)

Clutch would need uprating, std one is only good for 250hp

Better to keep stock and remove things until its light enough - and never carry passengers.....

Edited by roger.daltrey on Friday 26th October 08:07

[Lee281275]

Here is my Europa, very tuneable and in its current state running 320Hp and 345Lbs torque with a larger turbo more is capable but it’s plenty fast enough. To achieve this the following mods to the engine
LEH forged engine
Pro alloy Charge cooler
VXR Turbo
Highflow enlarged pipe and plenum
AEM Air filter with 80mm pipes
80mm Airflow meter
VXR clutch and flywheel, excedy slave cylinder
76mm Chris Tullet Exhaust with 200 cell cat
VXR injectors
High flow fuel pump
Stem seal retainers new stem seals
Silicone engine mounts
BKR6EIX spark plugs
Courtenay custom map

[Turn7]

That looks mega!

I always thought the Europa would be a kind of backdoor and econo way of getting into Lotus ownershipm and I actually prefer the styling as it stands out against the Elise......

[GTRene]

that looks like a nice one.

[fredd1e]

This was mine, had a bit of a love hate relationship as it and I ended up on 1st name terms with the local AA team due to the number of times it ended up broken down at the side of the road. I had found a set of aftermarket wheels (in pic ) that were close to the SE spec 17/18 staggered fit. Improved front end turn in feel (imo) and helped reduce the easily triggered ABS (in the wet) . This was an S spec with the 225bhp lotus ecu, though it felt a bit underdeveloped with a power curve that climbed like it were goind up a series of steps.

[Turn7]

Still think its a better looking car than the lIz.....I really enjoyed the 600 odd miles I did in an S....

[Lee281275]

fredd1e said:

This was mine, had a bit of a love hate relationship as it and I ended up on 1st name terms with the local AA team due to the number of times it ended up broken down at the side of the road. I had found a set of aftermarket wheels (in pic ) that were close to the SE spec 17/18 staggered fit. Improved front end turn in feel (imo) and helped reduce the easily triggered ABS (in the wet) . This was an S spec with the 225bhp lotus ecu, though it felt a bit underdeveloped with a power curve that climbed like it were goind up a series of steps.

Nice car and nice wheels, will be my next thing to do, with your ECU problems the 225 Map was a terrible map from Lotus they never made 225, I arranged a group buy with other Europa owners through Jon at Courtenay Sport. It make a massive difference to the drive ability of the car even in standard form.

[roger.daltrey]

You can improve the braking by fitting the Exige ABS controller. You can either buy a new one and have it configured for the car, or find a crash damaged Exige and take it off that for plug & play. Also handles the staggered wheels nicely if you decide to do that, without any calibration setup nonsense.

Basically Europa is 2-channel (from VX220) and Exige is 4-channel, so ice-mode kicks in when actually needed, rather than on gravel or uneven roads....

Its a big boost to confidence when driving, as you'll know it will stop now !!

[deltahotel]

I've had one since 08, first owner, my first Lotus and its been brilliant.




Never been many for sale even when they were building them. Most of the issues can be sorted out and it makes for a great drive. I have been to Germany and France a number of times and it was fine on a long trip as it has a boot you can use and its quiet enough to listen to music or hold a conversation, just has a small fuel tank when your used to diesels

[lightisright]

I found this thread while searching for information on my Europa S and I immediately thought: finally other Europa S owners!

I am French and I own a 2008 Lotus Europa S... which was imported by its previous owner from Scotland. As a consequence, it has the wheel on the right side of the car

It's a full stock one that only has 34k miles and it's not perfect (would need at least a front mask and spoiler paint job), but I love it!





By any chance, do you happen to know a reseller for Europa S parts? I searched for one selling brand new door seals last year without success... mine are aging, and they would need to be replaced.

Also, if someone has it I am searching for the complete service notes PDF file: I already have one but it is incomplete and misses the sub-section BT where is explained the door glass adjustment procedure.

Cheers!

[p4cks]

Door seals might be the same as a VX220 Turbo, given that the Europa are rebodied, unsold VX220 Turbos.

[mick_coupe]

Try here for door seals https://www.deroure.com/diagrams.asp?TBL=1732&...

Mick