Explores the design development and production of the Lotus Europa, Lotus’s first mid-engined road car. It covers the Renault-powered Series 1 and 2 cars, the Lotus Twin Cam-engined versions, and the Type 47 racing models.
The Lotus Europa was Colin Chapman and Lotus’s first mid-engined road car, and was produced from 1966 through to 1975. Originally designed to slot into the Lotus range below the Elan as a low cost replacement for the Lotus 7, the Europa eventually sat alongside the Elan and Plus 2 as a comparable sports car in its own right. Starting with the design philosophy behind the development of the Europa, this book provides detailed technical descriptions of all the major versions of the model, starting with the Renault-powered Series 1 through to the Lotus Twin Cam powered Special. It looks at the cars on the road, and the racing Type 47 derived from the road cars which competed in the small capacity Group 6 class, as well as featuring in historic racing today. With owners’ impressions and interviews with ex-Lotus employees, the book provides a valuable insight into owning, running, and racing these iconic cars.
Covers the history of the design and development of the road going Europa from the Series 1 to the Special
Describes the design and history of the Type 47 racer and the Type 62
Places the Europa in context in the Lotus model line-up of the 1960s and 70s
The only book dedicated purely to the Europa
Interview with Lotus engineers Mike Kimberley and Oliver Winterbottom on Europa Twin Cam design
In depth description of the design and layout of the cars
Details of technical innovations and evolution of the models
Full specification tables for all the cars
Many never before published pictures of the cars
Owners experiences and driving impressions of their cars
