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Tim Britten14 Jan 2014
NEWS

From The Classifieds: 1973 Lotus Europa Type 74 Twin Cam Special

This fibreglass-bodied two-door coupe could be considered a progenitor of many contemporary mid-engined exotic coupes.



The mid-engined Lotus Europa was just one example of the genius of British sports car designer Colin Chapman. The fibreglass-bodied two-door coupe could be considered a progenitor of many contemporary mid-engined exotic coupes.

British sports car maker Lotus has, among other things, always been known for innovative thinking and the Lotus Europa that was introduced to Australia in 1968 was a classic example of founder Colin Chapman's individualistic and influential approach to designing for minimum weight and maximum efficiency.

The Europa followed the Lotus Elan introduced here in 1963 and in true Lotus tradition it was quite unlike anything else available on the market at the time.

Like the Elan, the Europa used a steel backbone chassis and a fibreglass body, but the similarities pretty much ended there.

For a start, the Europa was a two-door coupe, not a canvas-roof convertible and, for seconds, it borrowed its drivetrain from the French Renault R16 and installed it midships to achieve a close to perfect front-rear weight balance.

The body -- described as the Lotus bread van by some critics because of its flat side panels extending aft of the side windows -- was low-slung and aerodynamic, and the weight, which hovered somewhere between 600kg and 700kg, was low enough to ensure plenty of performance from the 1.5-litre Renault engine. A step up, in 1969, to a 1.6-litre version of the R16 powerplant added yet more punch.

Typically Lotus, the Europa's strong suit was its road holding and handling. The all-independent suspension (using a modified Chapman Strut system at the rear) combined a reasonably absorbent ride with what was described at the time as close to Formula One handling capabilities.

During its lifetime, the Europa graduated from Renault-supplied powertrains to a 1.6-litre twin-camshaft Lotus-Ford engine that came in 1971 and significantly upgraded performance.

From ultra-minimalist in 1968 (the very rare, original S1 Europa had fixed seats and side windows, no door handles or inner door trim) the Europa in its final Twin Cam form – which was sold here from 1972 to 1973 – was a little more liveable with power windows, adjustable seats, carpets and even some touches of wood trim.

There were, in fact, numerous versions of the Europa during its lifetime, including a “big valve” version of the Twin Cam Special that was capable of accelerating as fast as a contemporary high performance sports car with potential sub six-seconds zero to 100km/h acceleration. It didn’t come here.

And so we come to this left-hand drive 1973 Type 74 Twin Cam Special Europa offered for sale at $28,500 on carsales.com.au. It isn't a big valve, but it is about as good an example as you would expect to find in Australia.

The owner, who lives in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst, spares few details describing its journey from the USA to Australia in 2008, and the work that was done -- including overhauled brakes and suspension, a full re-wiring, new Wilton carpets and a new hand-made dash -- on its subsequent arrival.

Although it is presented as a John Player Special, the car is actually a regular Twin Cam Europa that was dressed up in the USA.

The car will be supplied with a roadworthy certificate, and the owner describes it as a “very original and clean example of a Europa Twin Cam Special”.

If you want a full rundown on the car, check it out on carsales.com.au and you're unlikely to be disappointed.

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Written byTim Britten
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