As frustrated as i am with the progress of my car. i am still excited and motivated by vision of the car, mechanically and visually.
once released from the shop the running parts and the interior will be done - ! sweet. i have the aluminum dash covered in body matching blue vinyl. i made a few small edits to the arrangements of the gauges and switches. i deleted the Shadow box and glove box. i added a leather covered center console and leather appointed bulkhead.
New seat skins with diamond pattern (as seen on the Spyker c8). with matching door cards and crash pad.
new plush carpets installed.
The engine bay cleaned up to only essential and well mapped hoses and wires are present.
the back bone will be, by then, sanded and painted- looking fresh.
what remains, the body of the car.
Originally i planned on introducing a relocated radiator and hood vent. eliminating the turn signals and adding some sort of side skirt and chin air splitter.
The one aspect of the car that would remain... wanting, the rear end.
this has been bugging me for three years. other cars have similar profiles, but only the Europa carries it so poorly. Look at the Veyron, F1, countach, elise, the new 918, or Dino's. all are equipped with tall mid engines.
what is the common denominator? how do all these other examples pull off the tall rear end?
one aspect i see is the tapered rear sails. they both use the rearward and down sloping roof line to transition into the sails, which then continue the line down into the rear deck. further, in most cases the rear sails start further inside the body and continue to taper to the center(or at lease close together) -The Elise, and Dino do this well.
The first issue with this on the europa is that the roof line is flat when it meats the sails. and second, the sails continue a near parallel line to the rear of the car, both vertically and horizontally across the rear deck.
The other aspect just about all of these cars share, a vent or air intake that enhances the cars lines. the Europa is flat. the rear edge of the door is the most dominate line, followed closely by the horizontal line that bisects the rear.
One of the best design edits found on the overhauling car is the side elevation of the rear end treatment. in 7up joe's car they softened the vertical door line by introducing a ... rear window.. like glass panal, and the addition of a air intake that shares the shape. further back the wheel hump is carried into the vertical line. I Love it! they leave the top of the sails virtually alone, along with it' drop to the fender.
