is a 1968 series 2/3 which was rebodied in 1980 and (stupidly, now that I could get historic/tax exempt status!) re-registered. The car is now running with a 1988 Caterham chassis and is fitted with a 2.0 litre Ford Zetec engine. It is a "standard cockpit" chassis and the drive train consists of an XR4i 5 speed gearbox and an RS2000 rear axle. It runs on 14" Revolution 5 spoke wheels with Michelin Classic tyres. The car is for everyday use and these tyres are excellent for ride and my preference for handling. (glad to see that now the F1 gurus agree that ride/handling etc can be achieved with specific tyre pressures and tyre sidewall movement). I used to cover some 12-14,000 miles in the car but now work, wife and dog have seen that figure drop dramatically - although the car still gets used pretty well every day. (there used to be a time when the car thought that it lived on the continent and was a Swiss resident!)
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I love Europas but having owned one since 1972 discovered that they have a few "niggles". Having also become acquainted with the joys of Ferrari motoring in the guise of the 246GT Dino I realised that the two beasts were very similar in ride and handling but the Dino also had some other "niggles" not least that I didn't really fit comfortably in it! End result = take one Europa and throw away the body take one Dino and mould a new shell from it to sit on the Europa chassis - Hey! what could be easier? Here you can see the result. It has been trundling around since 1986 and is still a joy to drive (and look at). Currently fitted with a QED Lotus Twin Cam this car is smooth (unlike it's owner) very comfortable, easy and inexpensive to maintain and quick. The chassis has been modified to take 4-link rear suspension and the 5-speed Feugo gearbox and the rest of the car has been modified to lose most of the Europas problem areas. It's been featured in the Lotus factory magazine - "Lotus World", the LDC's "Chicane", Lotus Ltd's "reMarque", a three page spread in "Sports Car Monthly" and most recently in Paul Robinshaws excellent book on Europa's and their Derivitives. It seems to attract cameras at all of the events that I go to so I wouldn't be surprised if it pops up in other places!
I've always thought that the "drool" factor for any car can be measured by that strange "magnetic" need to look back at it whenever you walk away from it, again and again and just once more before you turn the corner (gosh I hate leaving it - it begs to be driven) - I am pleased to say that, for me, both of the toys fall into this category. Magic.
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