Lotus Europa Colin Chapman S Mid Engined Masterpiece

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.

The Lotus Europa was Colin Chapman and Lotus's first mid-engined road car, and was produced from 1966 through 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 those featured 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.

The Essential Guide to buying the Lotus Europa of your dreams, this book will guide you through all you need to know. Originally intended to be a cheap and basic Lotus Seven replacement, during its development the Lotus Europa morphed into a miniature supercar, described by Colin Chapman as a “working man’s GT40,” which sat alongside the Elan in the Lotus line-up. Its mid engined configuration gave it exceptional balance, and its handling and roadholding were second to none. Initially produced for export to Europe in late 1966, the Renault-powered car evolved into the Series 2 in 1968 when it was released to the UK and US markets, and, in its final iteration, gained the Lotus’ own Twin Cam engine in 1971. Production ended in 1975 with around 9200 cars completed. This book has been written to provide the prospective owner with all the information they need to establish if the car is for them, and what to look for when viewing an example. All aspects of the cars are examined, including paperwork, mechanical issues, bodywork and interior with many photos of example cars to assist in the assessment of an individual car, and understand the implications of many of the common problems that a car can exhibit. The author is a Lotus enthusiast, and has been working on and writing about classic Lotuses for a number of years.

The Series I Europa was introduced as an export-only model. It used the 1470cc Renault engine slightly tweaked. The chassis was bonded to the body making work expensive and the ventilation needed improving. The Series 2 had a detachable chassis, electric door windows and a better dash. Sales in the UK began in July 1969. In the USA the car was fitted with a 1565cc emission-controlled Renault engine. In 1971 Colin Chapman launched the Twin-Cam Europa using the 1558cc Lotus ford engine with changed styling. Last of all was the Europa Special, available from august 1972 featuring the Big Valve Lotus Ford engine with Renaults five-speed gearbox. Production ceased in March 1975. This is a book of contemporary road tests, technical and specification data, new model intros, drivers impressions, long-term reports, racing.

As Lotus's flagship model for almost three decades, the Esprit was launched in 1976 and remained in production for over a quarter of a century. It received regular refreshment along the way, principally to its original Giorgetto Giugiaro design and, from 1987, to its later Peter Stevens incarnation. Both iterations enabled the Esprit to maintain its position at the forefront of its market segment. Regularly compared to the best available from its German and Italian rivals, the Esprit was equally at home on the race track as it was on the road. A promising return to top-line international GT racing saw the Esprit compete on equal terms with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren, whilst, back in the showrooms, the car was selling for a fraction of their cost. The legacy of the Esprit can clearly be seen in current Lotus models whose core design brief is that they should always be the finest handling vehicle with the deftest of steering, feedback and feel. With over 300 stunning images, including professional photos, factory archive pictures and specially commissioned artworks, and featuring several interviews with Lotus personnel intimately concerned with Esprit production, this volume is a fitting tribute to a masterpiece of design and technology.

From penniless beginnings as an engineering student in North London, Colin Chapman went on to build the world-famous Lotus car company and establish himself, in Jackie Stewart's words, as the "most creative designer of racing cars in the history of motor racing." Written with the full cooperation of Chapman's widow and Lotus Company, and reissued to meet continuing public interest, this is the definitive biography of the brilliant engineer. All of Chapman's creations are examined, including the original Lotus Elites, Elans and Europas of the early 1960s; the Eclat and the mid-engine Esprit; and the Lotus Grand Prix cars that became world-famous, winning seven constructors' and six drivers' World Championships.

Detailed model-by model descriptions, competitive achievements, technical and restoration information and invaluable reference data technical are provided in this book in the popular Collectors' Guide series.

In 1960, Colin Chapman sought to identify the most straightforward and uncomplicated way of building a Formula 1 car. The result was his first rear-engined design, the trendsetting Lotus 18. This book charts the 18’s competition history, from its inception, up to 1966 – via sensational victories over Ferrari at Monaco and the Nürburgring.