May 1970 Road & Track Europa Review

We can almost picture the scene: Colin Chapman, looking over the shoulder of his chief draftsman, is approached by his business manager, who asks, “What about the 1970 models for the States? Those boys are getting a bit insistent.” Annoyed, Chapman replies, “Tell them something, anything. I can’t think about it until we get the type 72 GP car finished.”

A bit farfetched, perhaps? We’re not sure. In contrast to big companies like Mercedes-Benz who race occasionally to promote an impressive line of production cars, small constructors like Lotus seem to build the occasional production car to capitalize on their impressive racing success. For the sporting enthusiast who manages to get a road-going Lotus this isn’t half bad – Elans and Europas are wonderfully close to their racing sisters in every facet of performance – but it does make the availability and servicing less than ideal. We used to say there was only one really properly completed Lotus (the one Jim Clark was currently racing) and although the situation that prompted that cynicism has improved, the Norwitch firm has far to go, especially in the U.S.

Because of the availability problem, we haven’t been able to get a Europa to test until now, and only because of the generosity of a private owner who – like many other readers who have written us – wondered when we’d have a full report in R&T. Our test car, a series 2, was driven all the way from Boulder, Colorado by its owner Jeff Johnson, and had 13.000 miles on the odometer when it arrived. It couldn’t be regarded as an entirely representative Europa, having benefited from the careful attentions of its conscientious owner, but Mr. Johnson stressed that the car had been trouble-free and that his efforts had only been preventative. At that, he was not happy with his local Lotus dealer and only got real help from Bob Challman’s agency when he arrived in California.

Before we go into the specifics of this test, we should trace the background of the Europa for those readers who don’t know it. First introduced in December 1966 its main purpose was to gain Lotus into the Common Market and it accomplished this by using the 1470-cc Renault 16 engine and gearbox turned back-to-front and mounted amidships in a lightweight 20seat coupe with a backbone frame, all-independent Chapman suspension and a separate fiberglass body. It was not indented for export to the U.U. and has only trickled into this country meagerly, usually by private means. Despite the ads which have appeared recently in R&T and other magazines, there is no firm indication when (or that!) 1970 models will appear on the showroom floor of your local Lotus dealer.

That’s too bad, because the Europa is an excellent car. It’s surprisingly solid for such a light car (the curb weight is only 1460 lb, less than a Sprite, Spitfire of Fiat 850 Spider) and we found no loose or ill-fitting pieces. Detail finish is good but not exceptional. The styling, functional but not by any means beautiful, is also responsible for the car’s biggest fault – almost non-existent rear vision. The mid-positioning of the fairly tall Renault engine is partly to blame but the finned roof extensions – even if aerodynamic – are inexcusable. As a result, maneuvering the Europa, so delightful on the open road, is hellish in traffic.

The interior of the Europa is attractive and well detailed, with veddy-British polished wood dash, black vinyl upholstery and excellent Kangol shoulder harnesses. The racing-style backwards-leaning seats are extremely comfortable for one of moderate build )too narrow for larger types) and the headrests are in exactly the right place. Because of this, you sit very low. The view over the hood is fine, the tall central backbone/console becomes imposing and the rear view, as we’ve said, you can forget about – just hope there isn’t an Eldorado fender immediately behind, or farther back, a patrol car. Make no mistake – the police will be watching you.

The central console is just at elbow level, so shifts – particularly up into 2^nd, toward you – are awkward. The clutch pedal is very, very stiff but satisfactory for the quick shifts that can be made when you are used to the gearbox. The close grouping of the pedals makes the brake hard to find at first. When this is all sorted out the Europa can be made to go indecently fast: the gearbox throws are short, the ratios are well spaced and the engine is fully responsive. Renault does all the modifying and supplies complete engines to Lotus, but the result is very un-Renault-like in feel and exhaust note. The 82 bhp is developed at 6500 rpm, but on our performance runs we used 6300 as a shift limit (that’s what the owner’s manual says not to exceed) and we think the 18.2-sec figure we achieved in the 1/4 – mile is respectable (certainly no other road car with 80 bhp can match it). But it’s not intended as a straight-line car; when you turn the steering wheel of the Europa then its real delights are enjoyed. For this type of car the steering must be regarded as perfect. Effort is very high, but the 2 ¼ turns lock-to-lock mean that you do only the minutes amount of wheel winding and there is a high degree of precision. The wheel itself is small, leather-covered and exactly right in the hands.

Cornered very hard, the Europa really excels. The 185HR-13 Dunlop radials fitted to our test car (155s are standard) were really up to the job and the suspension kept them in full contact with the road a maximum amount of the time. Fifty-five percent of the weight is on the rear wheel, but the transition to oversteer is so gradual (and the steering so direct) that you get almost a sensation of slow motion. Now we know why racing drivers have all that time to think – racing cars permit this awareness. And the Europa is very much a racing car in this respect.

Braking is equally good. The Europa stopped from 80 mph in the shortest distance we’ve recorder so far – 257 ft. In our fade test we got no measurable increase in effort; the Europa is a very stoppable car, even though it has drum brakes at the rear. The low car weight is of course responsible and with the low aerodynamic drag also contributes to the good fuel economy we recorded. Under hard driving we achieved an average of 31 mpg: this can be bettered under favorable conditions but we expect any Europa to be driven hard most of the time so the figure can be taken as typical.

For daily use the Europa is something of a problem. It’s nimble and could be a whiz in traffic if only you could see out the back and if others could be counted on to see you beside them. So you just naturally want to get out and away. For trips the Europa provides decent accommodation for two and their luggage: in addition to the underhood space, which accepts a large suitcase plus incidentals, there is another compartment behind the engine that will take a medium-size case. The seats are relaxing for touring and the electric windows work well, though the door design doesn’t permit them to go all the way down. We didn’t use the heater much but the ventilation system did a good job of passing air through the interior. The windshield wiper has an excellent pattern and another appreciated item was the interior light below the rear window between the headrests – handier than it might sound in this description. All in all, the Europa was unexpectedly comfortable, usable and free from awkward inconveniences.

From a servicing standpoint (assuming you can get the parts) it shouldn’t be a hard car to work on. Engine accessibility is far better than on the Porsche 914 and the possibility of getting parts directly from Renault could be a time and money saver (if you know the right numbers and also which ones are not interchangeable with those of the 1565-cc Renault 16 sold in the U.S.)

All of which means that the Europa could be a great car in this country if Lotus would only get serious about it. The English price we quote in the data panel ($3060) does not include their high purchase tax but a goodly amount will be tacked on getting the car over here – lots of open hands along the way – and $4500 is probably the lowest you can expect if you can get it past Customs. At that price, about $700 below the Elan, it would still be a fair proposition. So let’s hope Mr. Chapman gets his new GP car sorted soon and applies his undoubted genius to solving the problems of Lotus enthusiasts in the U.S.