I’ve been giving this a lot of thought.
I’ve owned three Elan’s (64 S1, 65 S2, 69 S4) and one 72 Europa TC. I had the 64 Elan S1 the longest and did a frame off restoration building it as a road going GTS sports car. It was lightning quick due to a Quicksilver racing built engine and with 26R chassis, Sliding spline half shafts (no donuts) and fully adjustable coil over suspension it handled much stiffer than my completely stock S2. I had the top down 99% of the time.
From my perspective the Elan S1 & S2 is a pure joy sports car. Nimble, quick, simple and elegant. The gear change on an early Elan is one of the best in the world. Snick snick in any gear. The gear lever falls comfortably in your hand and the gear change is precise and solid.
It’s a small car which works well if your alone. Otherwise your shoulder to shoulder with your passenger. Driving was effortless as it’s so light and nimble. Back country roads were sought after to experience the sublime handling and easy suspension travel that whisked you around corners with ease.
If the weather was fine you just couldn’t get a more enjoyable experience. If it rained you were screwed. It took twenty minutes to install the soft top and the car leaked like a sieve thru the front door seams (in the S1, Lotus figured out the problem in the S2).
Never the less, of all the classic sports cars I have owned it was my absolute favorite.
I bought the Europa as a whim. All during my teenage years I had lusted over a Europa TC. I had plenty of other British sports cars (yes, I started rebuilding sports cars early) but could never afford a Lotus. I promised myself I would buy one one day.
My Europa TC is my ninth Lotus. I’ve owned two Exige S’ (track cars) and two Elise’ along with the Elan’s mentioned previously. I currently own a 2005 Elise. I bought the Europa without ever driving one any distance. I just wanted one and figured it was a Lotus with all the right engineering from a performance standpoint so what the heck.
It showed up in my driveway after a tractor trailer trip from MN and I drove it about 10 miles. Finding any gear was fortune telling at its best. The driving position was pure racer boy. Yup, I’m going to like this sports car once I get it to my standards. It went straight into my shop and was disassembled down to every nut and bolt (my detailed rebuild is documented on this website).
The engineering design of the Europa is very unusual. They clearly had to figure out lots of solutions to make this mid engine sports car work on the street. It is a sports car that requires the owner to be very engaged in the maintenance and mechanical care of it frequently or has the financial where with all to have a mechanic who knows these cars take care of it for you. It’s no wonder so many of these cars were just left on lawns or in the back of garages for years inoperable. The simplest thing would prevent it from being driven.
I’ve driven my Europa over 2000 miles since I’ve completed it. This sports car is addictive to drive. The moment you sit in the car your already at sensory overload as the seating position alone prepares you for an experience that is waiting to happen. Turn the ignition and the dual Weber twin cam engine comes to life right behind your head. Oh boy, this is foreplay.......
As you are reclined in the cockpit waiting for the engine to warm up your eyes scan the instruments to check on the engine vitals. Everything is in easy reach and view. Mmmmmm, the view. Well the rear view window is really a slot, the right side view (on a left hand drive car) is limited to what you see directly out the window as there is NO rearward visibility and the front view is wide but you can’t see the nose of the car. No matter, when you in front of the pack who cares what’s behind you.
I spent a considerable amount of time, money and re-engineering to make the gear shifting as precise as possible. Literally months went into the complete rebuilding and modifications of the shift linkage. If I was the car designer/engineer the solution they came up with would have prevented me from building the car in the first place. But here we are and 9000 of these thing got built for the road. It’s amazing. This is the worst shifting mechanism I have ever experienced in my lifetime of sports car ownership. I have re-set my attitude regarding expectations on this and now am completely in sync as I have mastered the art of Europa gear change shifting.
The Europa is one of my favorite sports car ever. I’m sure your surprised to hear that. Despite the lack of rearward visibility and the hunt for any gear the driving experience is a pure drug inducing high. The driving position sets everything off. Your reclined into a position that only formula car racers know. The engine noises are behind your head reminding you that this will be exciting. As you steer around corners you wonder how this could be so telepathic. The car almost steers itself just by thinking about it. As you pick up speed everything engages into a sublime visual, audible and tactical experience. It’s religious.
My first “test drive” was 800 miles long over 4 days. I was completely bewildered that this car was so comfortable to drive. The seating position is very comfortable and at speed the airflow from the vents and with the windows down are quite good (and this was during August in the North East).
Anytime you park the Europa people gather to look at it and ask questions. Driving down the road I’ve had other sports car owners pass me the opposite direction and turn around just to follow me. It attracts an unreal amount of attention. At British cars shows you will probably be the only Europa and EVERYONE wants to look at it.
Two entirely different cars built by the same company. Both are eclectic and fun to drive. Both have driving experiences that unmatched by any other sports car on the planet.
My advice? Be happy you own one of them and feel blessed if you own both.
