I have no idea if that's a good deal or not since I have never seen one sold in running condition- but I want it.
I must be broken. Despite trying very had to love everything Lotus, that is a hideous mess to my eye. It's like the guy who designed the Elan quit and they just grabbed the 1st drunk from the shop they could get to draw on a napkin.
In reply to Huckleberry:
Sure, but have you ever sat in one? If you want the sensation of flying ass-first 3 inches from the ground, your options are pretty much Europa or street luge.
In reply to ¯_(ツ)_/¯:
I've actually never seen one in person that moved under it's own power. They are always projects that have a tarp on them with old paint cans, and xmas decorations from last year on top.
THey seem to have that in common with Opel GTs.
I have sat in one before. Let's just say that my size 13 shoes didn't agree with the pedal positions. I actually couldn't press one pedal at a time. Still want one. I am not logical when it comes to cars.
Im in the Nope Nope Nope camp...im too big and those cars are too small
Want. Bad. With a stock 0-60 of around 9-seconds from the ~80hp on tap it certainly wouldn't be "fast", but I expect it would be a whole lot of fun at those speeds!
My biggest concern is the seller states "This is a fiber glass car so exterior rust is not an issue." Um, what about the 16-gauge steel chassis???
I bumped into a guy a while back that said his was his only car and dd. Lol.
wait, the guy mentions improving the "driving experience." Is he actually trying to imply the Europa runs? SCAM.
Huckleberry wrote: I must be broken. Despite trying very had to love everything Lotus, that is a hideous mess to my eye. It's like the guy who designed the Elan quit and they just grabbed the 1st drunk from the shop they could get to draw on a napkin.
+1. Me too. I don't know the first thing about driving one, but they sure are butt Ugly. Proportions All wrong.
Saw this was Detroit CL, got excited, and then clicked the ad and see it is allllllll the way across the mitten. It's a bit to far for me to go kick the tires.
Honestly to me the looks of the front half are amazing. The back half with the hunch is the only problem for me. If it was an el camino type vehicle then sure but it's not so the looks are all wrong back there. I think it could have been resolved a lot better without adding weight.
But, I would still love to drive one. I've seen a couple in person and they're so tiny that the proportions aren't as bad as they might be in photos.
In reply to dculberson: Yes, it's EVERYTHING aft of the doors that is terrible to my eye. Just all wrong.
Maybe the designers loved the Ferrari breadvan. The engine bay can handle a wide variety of engines. Too bad the interior only fits f1 drivers.
I think the S1 looks best...it's almost good. Followed by the S2, then the Twin Cam. I really wish I was in a position to buy this one, if it's as good as it seems.
I like the Twin Cam, but I've never liked that downward curve to the door windows.
Actually, I think you could make the whole side view look better just by rounding off the top rear corner of the door frame.
petegossett wrote: Want. Bad. With a stock 0-60 of around 9-seconds from the ~80hp on tap it certainly wouldn't be "fast", but I expect it would be a whole lot of fun at those speeds! My biggest concern is the seller states "This is a fiber glass car so exterior rust is not an issue." Um, what about the 16-gauge steel chassis???
Well, he does say "exterior rust"... 
I've sat in a Europa or two over the years. Love them. I too thought they were ugly, but the looks have grown on me over the years. But a Europa as a daily driver? Damn, that's brave.
Do allEuropas' look like they bow down at the rocker panels?
They are not the best looking car but dressed like this I would not mind it.
The car was conceived and sketched up as a small-capacity endurance racing car with low drag. Not such a bad thing to look like. I bought a new twin cam in '74, when I got my first real job, and daily drove it for over two years and 26,000 miles before selling it to go bike racing. We had a Lotus dealership in Little Rock, Jim Powell's. I believe it listed for $7200 and I paid $6600 and sold it for around $4000.
It was not an uncomfortable car. Of course, I was a racing nut in my 20's. The ride was fairly supple. The steering, handling, brakes were all wonderful. It could be made to ooze sideways but it neither pushed nor tried to spin. The engine made interesting power in about an 800 rpm band at the top. The doors warped a little and never fit all that well, so you'd get some drops in when it rained. The heater was inadequate. It was fun to drive under the parking gate arm in my building in order to alarm and amuse passengers. It would go 118 miles per hour.
For that brief period, it was reasonably reliable. I dropped it into an enormous pothole in Nashville, TN one night and the shift linkage hit the rim of the hole and cracked the endplate on the transmission, but I found a used one at a bearable price. I drove it to and from Michigan one summer. I never had the feeling that it was drawing a lot of attention. Some of my friends called it "that little truck." It was a ton of fun and I loved it dearly.
I have a friend who has one. It was easier to get into my classic mini with the roll cage. I was ungodly fast though, and for that sole reason I can forgive a lot of things.
I hate that I want this thing. I'm just picturing trying to tiptoe in my size 13 shoes.
Mike wrote: I hate that I want this thing. I'm just picturing trying to tiptoe in my size 13 shoes.
The posting is gone, maybe you don't have to worry about it?
I remember seeing one at a track day. He was in my run group and I was expecting great things. I followed him for a while in my Miata and was shocked at the amount of body roll. Also, the exhaust absolutely stunk, so it may have been worn out or out of tune. I passed him early on. I really like those cars and would love to own one, but I was kind of disappointed after seeing on on the track. They would probably be more at home on an autocross course than on the track.
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