The Europa Named One of the Ugliest Cars of the Sixties

[literarymadness]

The article was quite derogatory and obnoxious about our beloved Europa and shows the author's ignorance; the photo representing a '60s Europa was a '72 JPS.  Everyone should email the author.  Pfreen sent a great response letter to the magazine.


https://www.automobilemag.com/news/ugliest-cars-of-the-1960s/

[Pfreen]

The following is what I wrote to this “journalist”,  Aaron Gold.  The website I sent the message to is : https://aaronthecarguy.wordpress.com/about/

Comment: You obviously don’t know much about a Lotus Europa. The photo you showed in your article was a 1972 Europa, not 1966.

Also,
The original Lotus Europa used Lotus founder Colin Chapman's minimalist steel backbone chassis that was first used in the Lotus Elan, while also relying on its fibreglass moulded body for structural strength. The Europa was the first mass-produced mid-engine road car and was based on a prototype built to compete for Henry Ford II's contract to build a Le Mans race car in the early 1960s.

It is truly a driver’s car. If you have never driven one you should not state that it layed an egg. It was was the first production vehicle developed with a wind tunnel. It had the lowest drag coefficient of any car of its time.

You might look up the Lotus Europa blog http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php to see what owners think.

Btw, its easy to cast stones. Why don’ t you say something positive.

[SilverBeast]

If that's him and his car in the link then I have severe doubts on his ability to determine what is ugly!
People in glass houses etc...

[BDA]

Here's my reply in a letter to the editor. I did not make it all caps. That's what the form did to my email.

RE: THE UGLIEST CARS OF THE 1960S

WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE DIFFERENT TASTE IN CARS, AT LEAST WHERE THE LOTUS EUROPA IS CONCERNED. I WOULD SAY THAT YOURS IS DECIDEDLY IN THE MINORITY GIVEN THE COMMENTS I GET NEARLY EVERY TIME I PARK MINE AND THE WAVES AND THUMBS UP I GET WHEN I DRIVE MINE (QUITE OFTEN FROM PORSCHE AND CORVETTE DRIVERS). BUT, AS I SAY, THAT IS A DIFFERENCE IN TASTE AND PEOPLE CAN DIFFER.

HOWEVER, I NOTICE THAT YOU KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE LOTUS EUROPA AND WONDER IF YOUR MAGAZINE IS IN THE HABIT OF EXPOUNDING ON CARS FOR WHICH YOU HAVE SUCH LIMITED KNOWLEDGE. THE EUROPA YOU SHOWED WAS NOT A 1966 BUT A 1972 EUROPA (POSSIBLY A JPS COMMEMORATIVE EDITION - JPS STANDS FOR JOHN PLAYER SPECIAL, THE SPONSOR OF LOTUS F1 CARS FOR MANY YEARS). IT'S A SIGNIFICANT CAR BECAUSE IT WAS THE FIRST AFFORDABLE  MID-ENGINE PRODUCTION CAR (IT CAME OUT THE SAME YEAR AS THE LAMBORGHINI MIURA CAME OUT).  I GUESS THAT WOULD MAKE IT A SPORTS CAR AND NOT A PICKUP TRUCK OR A DELIVERY VAN.

SINCERELY,

[Sandyman]

Opinions are like butt holes, every one has one.

[literarymadness]

Here is my reply:


In regards to the Lotus Europa being one of the "Ugliest Cars of the '60s," this past October, my Europa Twin Cam Special  along with a friend of mine's TCS were invited to participate in one of the largest Exotic Car Shows in the World. "Exotics on LAS Olas" All 250 cars were approved by a committee.  BMW M series were considered too mundane, as were Jaguars and generic Porsche 911s and were not allowed in the show.

There were at the show; however,  Mclaren Sennas and Longtails; and Bugattis Veyrons and Chirons, a Koenigsegg, Pagani and, high end Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Of yeah...Two Lotus Europas.  My Europa was just a few cars away from a Lamborghini Miura and across from a Ferrari F40.  Upon its release, the British Automotive Press voted the Europa JPS: "The Sexiest Lotus Ever."  Road and Track Magazine described driving a Europa as the closest one would ever get to driving a Formula 1 car.

And for a car that was a so-called egg, Lotus sold close to 10,000 of them--a very large number for a small boutique manufacturer. Current Club support is outstanding.

Wesley B. Wright

[dakazman]

   
  From a guy who owns a 1969 Dodge Polara, not list that land yacht!
Dakazman

[bert knip]

Lucky I did not paint yet, then there is stil time to do some fiberglassing to make it less ugly

[jbcollier]

The problem is that Europas are not easy to photograph well.  They are really quite small and that is seldom shown in photographs.  They are also very, very low.  Few people take the bother to get low enough to show the Europa shape to best advantage.

[EuropaTC]

That article is interesting, I clearly have no taste in cars.

I've obviously got the Europa addiction but also had the Marcos (1800 Volvo in my case) and the Hillman Imp. Both pretty neat  cars and in the UK at least there was a lot of rivalry between the Imp and Mini.  The Imp had a neat alloy engine compared with the cast iron lump in the mini and having had both cars, the Imp was the more practical of the two.

And the Marcos ugly ? Well, the one he shows was known in it's day as the "ugly duckling" but that was a race car which Jem Marsh used to compete successfully against the Lotus of the period with very few produced.   In fact Jem restored one (I think in the 80s) and won the class championship in the UK. It looked ugly, no arguing with that, but it was quite a clever design for the period.  And Costin had a hand in that one as well.

But the link in the article goes to the GT version which was an E-Type/Lotus competitor in the 60s over here in the UK. Very trendy, very swinging 60s.

The 70s Mantis was one of those "love it/hate it" cars and blamed for the demise of Marcos, but if you look at the context it was a move to a 4 seater from a 2 seater sports car company.  Lotus had the Elan+2 which is a compromise and it's interesting that Lotus went on to dump the Elan/Europa and concentrate on true 4 seat cars after that.

As an aside,  Jem would tell you himself that the Mantis was successful, they sold every one and had orders outstanding when the business went down. That was due to a load of GTs which they'd shipped but couldn't move through customs and that screwed up their cash flow. 

Clearly the author had a deadline to meet and a couple of thousand words to write......

Brian

[dakazman]

 Let’s vote on a 60’s car replacement.
Dakazman

[Lou Drozdowski]

I think the author should reconsider and find another occupation...

[Certified Lotus]

Another way to look at it.

[Fotog]

I don't see it as a very meaningful article.  It's not as though he made any attempt to do a comprehensive survey before he made his picks.  I think he was mostly wanting to show off his clever prose writing.

About the Imp he says: "a British heap that isn't quite a sedan, isn't quite a hatchback, isn't quite a wagon and isn't even close to attractive." And with respect to the Matra, "We cannot even begin to imagine what went wrong with the Matra 530, because designing a car this ugly has to be an act of willful malice."   LOL, right?  I don't recall seeing an Imp.  Probably have, but the design isn't noteworthy enough to my eye that I would remember, and they weren't something I grew up with.  Certainly not one of the "The ugliest", I'm sure.

And then he has the gall to include the Zeta sports in the list!  Who the hell wouldn't want one of those?!  Way cool! (There's something about the stance of it though...it appears that one's feet should stick out the bottom to make it go.)

I'll give him credit for those American behemoths on the list.  I thought that they were ugly in the day, when I was about 5 or 6, and they still are today.  What on earth were they thinking?

...and he must not have realized that the Europa is a veritable babe-magnet, as can be seen above.

[Dilkris]

Don't get upset - it's only an opinion written by an individual who is paid by the articles he sells, (whether true or false). Notwithstanding this I personally thought the picture of the 1960 Marcos GT Xylon, (one of which I have never seen), was so ugly it was almost beautiful!!!