Talk:Lotus Europa

Untitled
The information I've added came from a number of websites and a printed magazine / program guide I borrowed (See References). The piece I used basically has a list with a bit of info about every type of Lotus... Mark 1 through Type 104. I started with the Europa models listed there, and filled in other figures about each model from the various sites listed. There are some inconsistencies in some of the websites... for instance, autozine says S2's have the TwinCam Ford engine (which is wrong), but I still used their weight numbers. Aside from the weights, I believe all of this info existed at multiple sources on the web and coincided with the info in the printed material where such info was present. Having only learned about Lotus Cars recently, thats the best I can say about it being accurate. Corrections welcome, of course ~leif 07:47, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)

The Renault engined Lotus were named Lotus Europe not Europa Ericd 17:50, 19 Jan 2005 (UTC)


 * I have my doubts about this. A quick Google finds many Renault engined Lotuses named 'Europa'.  A search does find a couple named 'Europe', though.  Did it get named Europe in some markets but not others? &mdash;Morven 19:22, Jan 19, 2005 (UTC)

I'm quite sure the S1 and S2 were Lotus Europe not Europa however they are often designed as Europa by mistake. Ericd 13:49, 9 Jun 2005 (UTC)

The California title for my 1969 S2 identifies it as a Europa. Flagmichael (talk) 18:48, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

Firsts
I took out the section
 * was among the first production road cars to feature a mid-engine rear wheel drive design. It was the first affordable, mass produced, mid-engined car.

Among the first? Among the first are the 1921 Rumpler Tropfenwagen. By the 1960s it was not uncommon with MR cars. Also affordable? What about the Zündapp Janus? Was the Europa more affordable? // Liftarn $$Insert formula here$$

1966–1975 Lotus Europa as a GT coupe?
While the 1995 Lotus Europa may qualify as a GT coupe, I'm having a hard time seeing how the 1966–1975 qualifies as a GT car. The article on Grand Tourers says that GT cars are designed for long distance driving in more comfort than a standard sports car. It also states that GT cars tend to be heavier and larger. Heavier is certainly not part of the Lotus mantra of "Simplify, then add lightness." The Europa is about as spartan as a car can be, even for its day. And for long drives, anyone who has been in a 1966-1975 Europa will tell you they're not ideal. Take a look at the Car & Driver site, which quotes from their May 1968 article on the Europa as "an absolute gas as a $4000 toy for two slim enthusiasts to take out for an hour’s blasting around. But as a generally worthwhile, functional piece of transportation, it is a total washout." http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10q2/lotus_a_historical_timeline-feature

If Lotus called the Europa a GT in 1966, I'll respectfully back off. But the owner's manual for the S1 and S2 versions of the car do not refer to it as such. — Preceding unsigned comment added by CLSwiki (talk • contribs) 20:50, 27 August 2011 (UTC)


 * One contemporary magazine article said of the S1 Europa that the thing was designed for “a jockey with size 6 feet”. Mr Larrington (talk) 11:08, 5 May 2022 (UTC)

Lotus Elise, really?
The lead claims this car was derived from the Lotus Elise, and links to an article that dates that effort to the 1990s. Something's wrong… Maury Markowitz (talk) 23:11, 21 August 2013 (UTC)
 * That's not what the lead states. Andy Dingley (talk) 23:23, 21 August 2013 (UTC)


 * The Europa S was based on the Elise. The internet will tell you better about this. U1 quattro   TALK  16:19, 13 May 2020 (UTC)

Distinct sections for major models, consolidate technical info
When comparing this Europa page to those of the Lotus Elan and Lotus Elite (each of which also have 2 distinct cars sharing the same name), I don't think the Europa page clearly addresses this issue as well as those others. Specifically, the Europa page locates all content that refers to the 1966-1975 Europa under the L2 heading "History", but puts all the 2006 Europa content under the L2 heading "Europa (2006-2010)". This is inconsistent & a little confusing, and a quick look at the Elan or Elite pages shows a better structure, with each main Type having its own L2 section.

I suggest we rename "History" to "Europa (1966-1975)" to address this, and possibly reword the first sentence of the article to say that 2 different cars were produced by Lotus with this name (again as-per the Elan & Elite articles).

I also think there could be a "Concept" or "Design" section added to the early Europa content. There was a lot that was technically interesting/unusual about the original Europa concept (some of which is already given in the History & Model subsections), and detailing it all up-front before the model specifics whould present a good picture of how one of the world's first low-cost mass-produced mid-engine sports cars was successfully produced. Key information that could be added to a Concept/Design section includes how Lotus tackled the engine & transaxle packaging, the rear suspension & driveshaft systems, the chassis/body assemblies, cooling & ventilation issues, etc.

Thoughts? Geekstreet (talk) 05:05, 5 August 2016 (UTC)

Suspension: rear is not Chapman strut
The described "modification" of the Chapman strut design is actually a completely different suspension. There's nothing wrong with the description, but the idea that it is derived from the unrelated strut suspension is nonsensical. brian abp 00:13, 4 September 2022 (UTC)