Different front fenders/wings?

[kram350kram]

Maybe late to the party, but apparently there are two different front fender/wing design configurations throughout production? In pictures of the different years they all look about the same, maybe in person easier to see the differences. Does anyone have photos comparing the two? Thanks

[jbcollier]

S1 Type 46  Low fender/wing line:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Lotus_Europa_S1_Typ_46_Serial_Nr_46-0149.JPG

TC  Type 74  Higher fender/wing line.  Headlight raised as well:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Europa#/media/File:Lotus_Europa_-_Flickr_-_exfordy_(2).jpg

[TurboFource]

Next to each other…

[Bainford]

This Europa on BAT has one front fender of each type, making for easy comparison of the two types https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-lotus-europa-7/

[Bryan Boyle]

This Europa on BAT has one front fender of each type, making for easy comparison of the two types https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-lotus-europa-7/

Lots of great S2 parts (aside from the shell) there to jump-start a stalled renovation (if you're not worried about maintaining matching numbers versus just getting it on the road).  Someone spent about 50% more for it than it was worth, imho, but, it's not my $$$$.

[TurboFource]

Bainford I was trying to find that pic, thanks for posting the link as it is the best example out there…

[kram350kram]

Thanks for the info. They look pretty much the same. 

[BDA]

I never noticed the difference before either except that that a lowered S2 always seemed to look a little better/natural than a TC. If you look at the relationship between the headlight and the bumper and the headlight and fender height and you can see the difference. The headlight was moved higher for the later headlight height regulations.

[Sparkrite]

I understand the tc has the wing/fender sitting higher due to the stance of the whlole front of the car, but I cant tell if the curve on wing/fender upper edge is any different to the early cars.

[TurboFource]

Another pic.....(sorry for poor quality as it is a pic of pic on another device)

[JR73]

The change appears to have been made on the type 65 S2 (later production) - Turboforce’s pic above shows my S2 (type 65) on the right alongside a 47 replica (same headlight height as types 46 and 54).
The wing shapes are quite different on the higher vs lower headlights - it’s not just ride height related. The obvious difference is from approximately the mid front wheel arch forwards. 65’s and TC’s are much flatter along the top of the wing.

[TurboFource]

Is there an aero advantage to the earlier design?

[JR73]

Is there an aero advantage to the earlier design?

Possibly a very marginal reduction in drag as the lower headlamps are slightly more faired in but then there’s also the front indicators, chin spoilers, wing mirrors, door handles etc that are likely to affect it all too. - depends what advantage you are looking for though? Less drag, reduced front end lift (as commonly reported), improved cooling, lower wind noise, better ventilation….etc Some would be traded off against others.