s2, time to think about color of car.

[mike alain]

I have looked at lots of pics,  my car was yellow (3 times painted), I just do not like it, maybe because I have been stripping all 3 with paint remover,  but I think a light color would hide the waves
in this very thin body, I do not like glazing putty on a very thin body, may crack,  lots of red out there, so that's out,   very few green, I wonder why?? I like it and with a yellow strip down
the middle,  Is there something I am missing?  does the public hate green cars?  I took on the project(complete restore)  to sell the car after,  not to make money, hope I break even, but just something to do during the covid year.  for my metal health,   so what color really makes this car sellable??Mike.  (stock s2)

[gideon]

Mine was pistachio lime green originally.  A DPO overpainted it (badly) in a red-brown color, so I plan to repaint it in the original green.  Like this one

http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=1182.0

My impression is that the market likes original colors, even if they are not the same color the car was originally painted.  The person I bought it from dealt in Porsche 914 cars.  According to him the green color was popular with 914 buyers, who have to be a similar demographic to Lotus Europa buyers.  Personally, I like that I can match the color scheme of a Miura.  Like this one

https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/timeless-classics-lamborghini-miura-p400

On the other hand my children hate the color and call it "pea green".

[gideon]

Lotus color cards by year, and examples of Europas in these colors are here

http://www.lotus-europa.com/colors.html

[jbcollier]

These cars are starting to gain collector interest.  For maximum resale value, paint it the original colour, period, full stop.  The only exception is if the original colour is an unpopular colour such as "Burnt Sand".  Then give consideration to a colour change to another colour offered in the same year.

The factory does not have records for the early cars (not sure of the cut off point).  If you have an early car, and don't know the original colour, paint it one of the factory colours from the year of production.

Ok, maybe you're not fixing it up to maximize resale value.  Maybe you are ok with taking a significant reduction in value.  Then you can paint it whatever you want.  Just understand that the value may be reduced by as much as the cost of a professional refinish and colour change.  On a fibreglass car, that can be a very large number.  It doesn't always work this way.  Maybe there are other people out there also desperate for your favourite colour.  You never know.  Just remember that painting a car does not always increase its value.  Sometimes it decreases it, and by quite a bit.

Lastly, a few general comments:

- old people look foolish in red sports cars, no exceptions!

- dark colours show every spec of dirt.  Mine is dark blue and I wash it a lot.  I like the look but the amount of washing is such that I sometimes wonder if...

- the most expensive and time consuming work on the car will be the bodywork and painting.

- not quite sure why, but Europas do NOT take well to the darker shades of British racing green.  It was not a popular choice back in the day either.

[Dilkris]

Some interesting points here - I am staying with "Lotus Yellow", (which is not my favorite color), but I want the car to be easily "seen" whilst on the road. I think the Europa looks simply stunning in black and or royal blue but I believe the car in these colors would become easily "missed" in poor light. 

[TurboFource]

My car is brown, it won't be when I paint it ... leaning towards French Blue ... my kids can worry about resale value...

[1970EuropaGuy]

I prefer the lighter colours as well. My car was originally Bahama Yellow but in the present paint scheme is bright yellow, brighter than the original Lotus yellow. I always wanted a black Europa but am now in favour on being seen by distracted drivers.

[literarymadness]

Here is an interesting article on car colour and resale value. According to the article, Yellow cars have the highest resale value. I love green cars (especial pistachio) but green didn't fare well.

https://insider.hagerty.com/trends/does-the-color-of-your-car-really-impact-its-value/


 

[dakazman]

   I love the Mosiac paint colors . Especially in emerald green .

  This is a modern tangerine.

Dakazman

[Sparkrite]

I am toying with colour choice even though I have not even touched the body on my car. I think the europa suits a wide range of colours, but not the dark greens. I also look at the dinky toy cars on ebay for inspiration and even though I would never paint it on my car, I would be interested to see a full size car in metallic pink.
I am even thinking of trying a cheap diy wrap to enable me to try out a colour choice before  committing to paint.

[lotusfanatic]

Hello Mike,

my Europa appears to have been Cirrus White originally (it's an early car and no records are available from Lotus Archives)
I also have an Elan which is white and I often consider painting both of them something different  - then I see other examples in white and they look stunning?!

decisions, decisions!

Mark

[mike alain]

AHH,  someone mentioned  a   wrap,  this may not be a bad idea,  maybe it would hide a few  'spider ' cracks that may appear over time.  and that light green from Italy  may be my choice now, I like it.   thanks  Mike.