Lotus Europa

When I was a teenager in the 1970s, I was really into cars. Every month I would buy Road And Track, Car And Driver and Motor Trend magazines to read up on Porsches, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other cool automobiles. Growing up in the wilds of southern Ontario, though, I did not often actually see exotic cars. So I thought it was cool when I saw a red Lotus Europa in Sauble Beach on August 12, 1978.

The British sports car was first introduced in 1966, a mid-engine coupe with a Renault engine. It underwent a number of changes over the years during its nine-year production run, with about 9,300 being produced in total. According to Wikipedia:

The Europa used Lotus founder Colin Chapman's minimalist steel backbone chassis, while also relying on its fiberglass body for structural strength. The 4-wheel independent suspension was as minimalist as everything else on the car; for instance, the rear suspension consisted of two relatively large trailing arms, one lower link per side, and the axles; very similar to Formula type race cars of that era. Aside from the doors, bonnet (hood), and trunk, the body was cast as a single unit of fiberglass. The Europa was designed and built to be an embodiment of Chapman's oft stated philosophy of automotive design: "Simplify, then add lightness."

There's a neat site at lotuseuropa.org that has a brief history of the car, a new owners' page, links to suppliers and clubs, a knowledgebase, repair manuals and more.

The Europa was not the most handsome of sports cars, but there's still something cool and exotic about it.

BTW, there's a new, totally redesigned Lotus Europa S coming out this year.