As a kid I owned several of the Matchbox model of the Europa in various colours (earliest with ordinary wheels, laters with superfast wheels), the rather nice Corgi Juniors version and the larger and right lovely Dinky. Always popular toys/models these. You owners of the real thing have a great thing there.
Great guest. So well spoken. He speaks to all us enthusiasts, someone who actually drives his car. ps-no one has any idea how small these Europas actually are, until they get in and out of one. Colin Chapman was one of my all time favorites. So pure.
I have a 1970 Lotus Elan +2 as my daily drive and I do about 10'000miles a year in it. I do most of the upgrades and maintenance myself and there are so many comments made in this video that resonate with me! 'I know what every rattle is, know what every smell is' 'Anxiety producing experience that's all part of the process of locating and fixing the issues' 'Developed a kind of mechanical sympathy, where I can kind of detect if there might be issues long before they actually crop up' This could literally be me talking, 100% spot on!
I agree its called The Bond Between Man and Machine. The Car And Driver . If you work on your car yourself , you become bonded .The car needs you to give what it needs. You need the car it gives you what you need. Ive ground up restored sports cars since I was 16 ( a RHD bugeye sprite)and many many more. Currently resto modding 2 Datsun Z cars. Ill find two more z cars, and a Europa .When Im done.
My Dad had one of these in 74-75 before health and safety was a thing. We used to travel 400 plus miles to Cornwall for holidays my sister age two on my mums knee and me age three sat on the transmission tunnel. Ahh good times
Great film - really agree about the comments on working on your own car in this film. No matter which car it is, I have always enjoyed working on mine and it undoubtedly adds to the driving experience when they are back on the road.
His sewing skills are better than he thinks, that trans tunnel panel looked amazing. I on the other hand would sew something and it would serve its purpose of holding together but look like hell lol...
Ahhh Lotus. In 1974 I was going to buy a JPS Europa, with the twin cam. Then my pal and I decided to go to Europe for a month before we got too settled into our careers and got married etc. On the way to the airport leaving London in a cab a little sports car blew by us and I said what was that? The cab driver said it was a Lotus 7. Wow, did that look cool. Two weeks after getting back home I owned a 7, with a twin cam, Webers, etc., and had the best time driving it for over 30 years. I'm still a member of the Golden Gate Lotus Club, almost 44 years now. Never did buy that Europa though...but, my pal who travelled to Europe with me did, so I got to drive his from time to time. Neat car and a great driver.
I still remember our family driving out to the cabin in the Summers and passing by a white Europa sitting in a old farmers homestead. At that point the car would have been less than 10 years old. How and why it got to an old farm in the middle of the Canadian prairies, I'll never know but It just sat year after year. Once I finally got my license as a young adult, I went to go check it out for myself. I figured I would see what I could do with the old thing because nobody else seemed to want to. Well just my luck it was gone. Sure it probably saved me years of tears and misery and would have been an uphill battle but damn I wish I had got to try. I envy this build. A lot. Thank Petrolicious.
My Dad recovered one from the Alberta prairies a few years back, but i'm pretty it was mustard yellow, and had a tree growing through the engine bay. He ended up restoring it and selling it to someone in the UK. It's amazing what you can find in these prairies.
What a great speaker Spence is. His enthusiasm and love for these cars seems to come out of every pore and everything he says is something all us car nuts feel. The Europa is one of my 'Scratches to itch' cars and hopefully that will happen one day. Great video.
Great guy, great car, great talk about the automotive passion. Everything he says touches the petrolhead part of me, and that’s a huge part. I love seeing this passion. I love it when I do my daily commute, and I get the thumbs-up, the flashes, and the smiles going with them from people on the way to work, doing their boring daily errands, yet smiling for the moment for a piece of metal and a person sitting in it that means so much to them. Sometimes I’m worried this passion will die out, with new cars being so robotic, soulless, less enjoyable and characteristic in general. I’m worried the new generation will not experience cars like this anymore, but somewhere I always know, maybe this community will be that little bit smaller, it will never completely go away. Hope the point in my life comes when I actually have the time, the knowledge, and most importantly: the money to drive, preserve and create a classic car like this Europa. I am only 21, I already have one 40yr old and a 21yr old car, one of them not very well-known outside Eastern-Europe and England - a Skoda 120L from 1978, rear-engined sedan made for the east block -, and the younger one very well-known, but not a classic car, and will never be as much appreciated as I think it should be: a BMW E36 28i Convertible in the rare Boston Grün finish, and the even more rare matching green interior. I'm working day by day on these two cars, spending most of my free time learning how to work on them, how to fix their problems on my own, making them better and better, more and more future-proof and usable on the daily, hoping one day they will be appreciated by more people, and I can be the guy talking in a video on this beautiful channel.
Be forewarned, petrolheads. Once Lotus gets in your blood, it's there forever. Fragile, finicky, uncomfortable-you won't care once you're behind the wheel. Any car that can make someone take up sewing is an amazing car.
Thats funny...the sewing thing. Shows you a car guy will do alot of Talent aquiring to keep his car alive or come back to life..... I can do so many skills , because of my love for Sports Cars.
@@104thDIVTimberwolf and how many hyper and super cars have the exact same issue??? See how Ahead of its time it was?...you also need very narrow shoes
I have always had a fascination with the Europa. I wish the race car had made it into the film. @Spence you did a fantastic job at conveying the magic of owning and driving a little European sports car from this vintage. This is how I feel when I get to drive my GTV around, so awesome. As always @petrolicious, thanks for the films.
Lovely little car, add lightness! Growing up in the 60's watching shows like The Thunderbirds I came to realise that a proper fast vehicle always had a firewall with diamond stitching behind the pilot, so this was perfect! 👍🇦🇺
THIS RIGHT HERE!! THIS is what the channel is ALL ABOUT! The owner, driver and story...perfect! I'm glad Petrolicious is back on track after the Turtle Wax disaster, its greatly appreciated👏
@@RP-kr2kb I'm sorry, I didn't read through the entire exchange, let me explain further. A couple years ago Turtle Wax became a sponsor on this channel. Its former owners must've been contacted by them and a partnership was formed. During the short movie, the owner would wash his car and use Turtle Wax and their products. Now at the time I knew the owners of these cars would never ever use Turtle Wax on their pride and joy, it was oh so fake and cheapened the channel. I still don't wanna see product placement on Petrolicious because these vids are perfect but I know money is money but still, hoping that they stay pure. In closing Turtle Wax has come back and I mean come back STRONG and joined the 21st century, welcome to the world TW👍❗
Love this video. You captured the car nut mentality perfectly. This is actually what I feel like as a Saab owner, actually enjoying the process of learning all the quirks and details needed to own and maintain really nice adn somewhat rare cars. After owning and bringing several of them back from previous owner neglect, you do get to the point of noticing a lot of problems as they just start to appear, vs being left on the side of the road. People think I am crazy for buying and saving them, but it is enjoyable.
Have never lived in southern California, but I feel well acquainted with these roads. Every auto and motorcycle show on yt and elsewhere seems to run them.
That is funny you say that.Im in Florida, but I feel the same way so many car videos are shot on these roads I feel very familiar with them.Im recognizing the land scapes , it is great you mentioned this!
They have never been side by side actually! The race car has been sitting in a garage 30 miles away the whole time I've had this orange car! Soon they'll be united.
@@spencercanon I agree Petrolicious should have combined the two into the video. A great video as it stands an epic video if there were TWO. The world awaits part II God thats a good follow up...come on now Petrolicious
I bought my 71' 240Z from a shed, it was orange and I just wasn't sure about it, now I consider it THE Z color, I repainted it the original color with single stage paint and I love it. Orange cars unite! I would love a rally Z or a G nose race car.
@@415s30 I agree Z cars look great in straight colors like orange / red /and white. The metalic the only one i like is the blue but I wished Datsun had a factory straight blue. Straight( none metalic ) colors on sports cars make them look more like a "car model" or a "toy". I always thought metalic on sports cars were like a weight lifter in a suit. Looks out of place "a little" I will have something cool in orange in the future. A Europa Is a perfect car for orange because its so tiny. Im painting both of my Z cars the brightest white I can get thats non metalic non pearl. Because its not a very large car...bigger than a miata for sure. But no corvette.
Terrific ! Gives me encouragement to finish both my Type 54 and my Type 65 Europas. Love your patience with the head lamp rings . Upholstery work great. I mounted riv-nuts in the seat rails to save scraped knuckles getting wrenches in and out Well Done Enjoy the drive! Geoff In Canada
I sat in a Lotus Europa when I was a young boy, they had only just come out and I remember being blown away by the electric windows. The car was Lime Green and was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.
Hey, this is more a love story than a restoration story. Thanks for sharing. I went back to my childhood days, playing with my Matchbox die-cast mini model of this car. Thanks again, and congrats for such dedication.
Driving my Land Rover is like that hahaha, you know every sound and can feel every part, as for restoration I love your take on slowly restoring it your own unique way.
That's a brave man, dealing with a Lotus Europa. I'd never undertake such a project, but I'm glad he did - thanks for producing the video Petrolicious!
Spence has touched on many of the challenges and victories of committing to the preservation of an automobile, where much of it was handmade. Very inspiring because my E28 M5 is also a "Rolling Restoration". Excellent video.
Lovely video of a special car. Last year I was fortunate enough to have a good drive in a 1968 black badge model (in honour of Jim Clark who died that year). As mentioned, despite not having vast amounts of power, it is beautifully balanced and as rewarding to drive as any car I have driven, including my beloved 964. It is a car that has to be driven - no brains in this baby and that's just how it should be IMHO! Thanks for yet another great auto moment and cheers from Sydney, Aust - Dave
I have owned several Lotus cars from the 60's and 70's. My S2 Europa was the most fragile of the lot, to say nothing about being eye-level with the lugnuts on semi trucks. Congratulations on having a running Europa.
You have to be a designer or a "Sports Car guy to understand the looks and the brilliants of this Design.. Porsche built the 904. Lotus built the Europa. Europa even the name is sheer thinking outside the box. Ive built two cars from literally Boxes of parts. You can not get to understand this car any better. It never was meant for the masses. Every part you hold , had two goals "light" and "low manufacturing cost" . These are both, extremely hard to accomplish Yet the Europa exists. In its day it was way ahead of its time. The future will change from the groups that dont understand The Sports Car World. To the small voices that defend the "ART" of this very astute ,design. You have to have built cars from scratch , or assembled a kit / replicar or even have restored a sports car or two, to fully get it. I can assure you , ask Gordon Murray about the design of the Europa , you would get a total 360 degree thinking , from the negatives people hang on this awesome " tool" of a sports car.. This is pure Lotus , before crash test era , trying to be light and competitive and affordable....brilliant!!!
J'ai toujours adoré la ligne de cette voiture, dans ce coloris elle est craquante. Et dire qu'elle est motorisé par un moteur de Renault 16. Un véhicule pas comme les autres. Félicitation à don propriétaire 👏👏👏👍
Also helps to own a business like a lot of the car owners featured here, too. Plus, vintage Lotuses don't really have a huge demand in America, so they're not that expensive--except for the parts.
I did let it go so I could fund my racing. The guy who bought it is here in LA so I still see it regularly. It was his favorite car so he appreciates it and is continuing to upgrade it.
Not really. Sold the Esprit to fund the racing Europa. This orange one came with lots of spares that I have been able to sell and have already broken even on it.
My GOD, Petrolicious ! you do read the comments!! A lotus europa awesome.....my challenge to you , Petrolicious is The 1965 Lola gt ...the cars Ford modeled the GT40 from. There are three-or four on the planet A british racing green ,vintage track car, a blue and white one thats unrestored pops up in museums / ex john Malcom, a silver one on jay leno's garage Thank you for putting your ART stamp on the Lotus Europa its deserving of this attention...thank you
Ive had 2 of these Europa's ...the sun cooks your knees .Its so aero dynamic when you roll the Windows down, no air, comes in the car. When you go to a drive up window you have to reach way up to the window. Its so feather light you feel its complete lack of weight , you actually feel your self adding your weight as you sit in it. BUT ITS small enough to hide in. Your garage like a kayak.Till fall when its the most beautiful machine to drive .The big Grin that never leaves your face or your mind , is why I will get another.
I spoke a lot about that in the interview but looks like none of the Europa's history made it in. Unfortunate since the connection to the Ford project really adds to the car's interest I think.
@@spencercanon the Europa stands on its own as a proper gt sports car. But Colin Chapman had a good twist on Eric Broadly . Both cars are uniquely potent road TOOLS for a Driver that loves to slip ,on , their cars and wear road armor.
@@spencercanon spencer you found your true "car guy" in your Europa's.Thats awesome I feel for guys that dont get it. The internet is over spilling with Sports car drag racing ( not a sports cars purpose on this planet) Smoking tire burnouts till a fire under the car has ignited.Why people burn up their car for a few seconds on video ( stupid) Or every one pulls out the motor And fits any motor that gets 500 hp.And a heim joint racing suspension on the street.( stupid fast, uncomfortably dumb) There are not alot of " sports car drivers " left....or they just get covered up by the 500+ hp,smoking burnout , drag racing , street car , hoonigan crowd. Im glad to see the Sports Car as it was designed is still being appreciated and NOT just by me. Great video , great cars, great Sports Car guy.
my europa story, 1973 , port aransas texas, traded my 1967 pontiac 428 2+2, title for title , for 1973 EUROPA S2, power by renault, daily driver for 8 years, didnt just love the europa, i worshiped it, super fun to drive , unique body style, true mid engine, very reliable, and i was a 20 yr. surfer drivin the f**k out of it all over the texas coast, no AC but didnt care, would strap my HOBIE long board on rear engine deck, engine bay breathers would melt the wax off the board, tragicly , the front end was knocked off by red light runner, thankfully not my feet, im 6 ft. 2, in 1981. took the ins.money, purchased alfa spider veloce quadrofollio, then had lancia beta s, then alfa gt v6 milano, then e type jag, then jag xjs v12, 76 vette, 86 vette, now in my 60s, i am living aboard my 42 ft. Chris Craft sport fisherman and sporting 76 stingray and 06 crossfire as daily drivers , life is good but i still miss my EUROPA
Was on a fun car drive in my Alfa Romeo GTV6 with a Europa in the group. Now my Alfa is relatively low, but sitting in my car with the Europa right in front it was something that I could cleanly see over the roof of the oh-so-low Lotus. The Lotus Europa is a cool unique car.
This car was my workhorse in Gran Turismo 2, back in the day. Such an oddball with its "backbone" chassis. I wish it was featured in more games since I read I'm too tall to drive one irl. Nice choice.
His light blue Esprit from the earlier video was amazing. I'd say this Europa is almost as good! Nice period colour. I think we need a video about his race car now to complete the collection? Good work Spencer.
Afraid to get old? I am so glad I am older! I am in better shape now than I ever have been. I can actually get the cars I have always wanted, and keep them on my road. I didn't take up R/C flying until I was 50! I got on a skateboard my first time at 40! Geez, there are better things to be afraid of.
Always loved the Europa. So unique, so beautiful! Could never afford one when they were new, hard to find now. 100 hp is plenty for a car weighing 1500 lbs. My old Spitfire weighed a little more than that. With only 70 hp was pretty quick!
Nicely done both interior and just the whole of the car looks great. Love the wheels which IMHO many times makes the car look great, or not. This was the car Colin was hoping Ford would use when they wanted to go racing against Ferrari but they chose to remake the Lola GT instead. I drove my brothers '74 JPS Europa a couple of times. Not being a large man, 6ft, I had a difficult time ( near panic as I got close to the corner and still looking for the brake petal) finding the brake pedal after coasting out of my driveway and heading to a sharp corner the first time I drove it. Not a whole lot of room for large feet or large shoes. I also found it drove remarkably smooth, Like my '74 Elite which has almost 8 inches of travel in the suspension and is the reason most all of the older Lotus's have a decent ride. My Elite which is heavily modified in the drivetrain area, will make most people wet their pants when taken a corner near the limit, it simply handles that well.
I remember reading a review of a Lotus Europa with a 3.5 V8 (ex Rover). Change into third gear at 110mph! I built an old 7 years back, but spent more time under it than in it. But a wonderful drive. Sweet days.
Beautiful car!! Back in high-school, my dream car was a JPS Edition Europa =) One of the previous owners must have been a TSD rally enthusiast judging by the stop watches on the dash.
I have a Lotus 7 and, like some others have noted, his comments could apply to my car as well. Terrific video and great production. In fact, all of your production is first rate.
Looks great!! My close friend had one back in the early 80s. As a matter of fact, I helped him rebuild the twin-cam engine. I always liked those 4-cylinder engines. His Dad had a '77 Esprit as well. It seemed like a very smooth and fast revving engine at the time. One thing I hated on the Europa was the gearbox. Good lord, that was a piece of garbage. Finding a gear was close to impossible and when it was in gear it was so sloppy the gear lever felt like it was in neutral. I guess it needed all new shift lever components, because there's no way in Hell someone would buy a new car with a crappy shifter like that. Still, it was a really fun car to drive. Better for my friend because he somehow mastered the shifter.
tscooter. I think the one thing you hated was the shift linkage, not the gearbox. For the 5-speed, the shift linkage was relocated to the left side of the engine/gearbox and totally reworked.
Talking about British automotive electrical problems reminds me of the story of how a British automotive electrical parts manufacturer discovered a company that was making and selling counterfeit electrical parts with their name on them. Normally, they would file a big lawsuit and put them out of business. As the story goes, they didn't, because the counterfeit parts were better made and more reliable than the originals. So, instead of suing them, they gave the counterfeiters a license to make parts under their name.
I drove one of my friends in the 70's. Smallest foot pedals but crazy light and agile. Under 1500 #s is go cart. The old mini coopers are similar experience.
I fell in love with these from watching the movie 11 Harrowhouse. In the early seventies I could have found one of these easily if I could have afforded one. Now even if I could afford one there too hard to find. I wonder if there is room in a Europa to take out the 85 horsepower engine and put in a Buick 3.8 L turbocharged V6.... the engine out of the Buick Grand National that was faster than a Corvette in the early 80s the Grand National weighed 3800 lb and that Europa was weigh less than half that at 1500. Can you imagine how fast that little star could be if you could cram that grand national engine in there somehow.
amazing video, I currently have 8 Lotus Europa's .. including one in Carnival Red which is a brighter orange (Tara King's The Avengers Car) a Red Race Car with race number 5's and a Black JPS amonst others .... mine are all Matchbox Superfast S1's but I do all the things you do including making black interiors and looking underneath!
As a kid I owned several of the Matchbox model of the Europa in various colours (earliest with ordinary wheels, laters with superfast wheels), the rather nice Corgi Juniors version and the larger and right lovely Dinky. Always popular toys/models these. You owners of the real thing have a great thing there.
Great guest. So well spoken. He speaks to all us enthusiasts, someone who actually drives his car. ps-no one has any idea how small these Europas actually are, until they get in and out of one. Colin Chapman was one of my all time favorites. So pure.
I have a 1970 Lotus Elan +2 as my daily drive and I do about 10'000miles a year in it. I do most of the upgrades and maintenance myself and there are so many comments made in this video that resonate with me!
'I know what every rattle is, know what every smell is'
'Anxiety producing experience that's all part of the process of locating and fixing the issues'
'Developed a kind of mechanical sympathy, where I can kind of detect if there might be issues long before they actually crop up'
This could literally be me talking, 100% spot on!
I agree its called The Bond Between Man and Machine.
The Car And Driver .
If you work on your car yourself , you become bonded .The car needs you to give what it needs.
You need the car it gives you what you need.
Ive ground up restored sports cars since I was 16 ( a RHD bugeye sprite)and many many more.
Currently resto modding 2 Datsun Z cars. Ill find two more z cars, and a Europa .When Im done.
Those three lines stuck with me as well. My own running restoration is an elegant distraction in these ways as well.
The Elan +2 is streets ahead in build quality compared to the Europa.
My Dad had one of these in 74-75 before health and safety was a thing. We used to travel 400 plus miles to Cornwall for holidays my sister age two on my mums knee and me age three sat on the transmission tunnel. Ahh good times
Marcus. Chapman designed the Elan +2 with families like yours in mind!
Great film - really agree about the comments on working on your own car in this film. No matter which car it is, I have always enjoyed working on mine and it undoubtedly adds to the driving experience when they are back on the road.
His sewing skills are better than he thinks, that trans tunnel panel looked amazing. I on the other hand would sew something and it would serve its purpose of holding together but look like hell lol...
lol my sewing skill is connecting stuff with zip ties
Ahhh Lotus. In 1974 I was going to buy a JPS Europa, with the twin cam. Then my pal and I decided to go to Europe for a month before we got too settled into our careers and got married etc. On the way to the airport leaving London in a cab a little sports car blew by us and I said what was that? The cab driver said it was a Lotus 7. Wow, did that look cool. Two weeks after getting back home I owned a 7, with a twin cam, Webers, etc., and had the best time driving it for over 30 years. I'm still a member of the Golden Gate Lotus Club, almost 44 years now. Never did buy that Europa though...but, my pal who travelled to Europe with me did, so I got to drive his from time to time. Neat car and a great driver.
Those are the kind of stories I watch Petrolicious for.
I still remember our family driving out to the cabin in the Summers and passing by a white Europa sitting in a old farmers homestead. At that point the car would have been less than 10 years old. How and why it got to an old farm in the middle of the Canadian prairies, I'll never know but It just sat year after year. Once I finally got my license as a young adult, I went to go check it out for myself. I figured I would see what I could do with the old thing because nobody else seemed to want to. Well just my luck it was gone. Sure it probably saved me years of tears and misery and would have been an uphill battle but damn I wish I had got to try. I envy this build. A lot.
Thank Petrolicious.
My Dad recovered one from the Alberta prairies a few years back, but i'm pretty it was mustard yellow, and had a tree growing through the engine bay. He ended up restoring
it and selling it to someone in the UK. It's amazing what you can find in these prairies.
What a great speaker Spence is. His enthusiasm and love for these cars seems to come out of every pore and everything he says is something all us car nuts feel. The Europa is one of my 'Scratches to itch' cars and hopefully that will happen one day. Great video.
Great guy, great car, great talk about the automotive passion. Everything he says touches the petrolhead part of me, and that’s a huge part. I love seeing this passion. I love it when I do my daily commute, and I get the thumbs-up, the flashes, and the smiles going with them from people on the way to work, doing their boring daily errands, yet smiling for the moment for a piece of metal and a person sitting in it that means so much to them. Sometimes I’m worried this passion will die out, with new cars being so robotic, soulless, less enjoyable and characteristic in general. I’m worried the new generation will not experience cars like this anymore, but somewhere I always know, maybe this community will be that little bit smaller, it will never completely go away.
Hope the point in my life comes when I actually have the time, the knowledge, and most importantly: the money to drive, preserve and create a classic car like this Europa. I am only 21, I already have one 40yr old and a 21yr old car, one of them not very well-known outside Eastern-Europe and England - a Skoda 120L from 1978, rear-engined sedan made for the east block -, and the younger one very well-known, but not a classic car, and will never be as much appreciated as I think it should be: a BMW E36 28i Convertible in the rare Boston Grün finish, and the even more rare matching green interior. I'm working day by day on these two cars, spending most of my free time learning how to work on them, how to fix their problems on my own, making them better and better, more and more future-proof and usable on the daily, hoping one day they will be appreciated by more people, and I can be the guy talking in a video on this beautiful channel.
Be forewarned, petrolheads. Once Lotus gets in your blood, it's there forever. Fragile, finicky, uncomfortable-you won't care once you're behind the wheel. Any car that can make someone take up sewing is an amazing car.
Thats funny...the sewing thing.
Shows you a car guy will do alot of
Talent aquiring to keep his car alive or come back to life.....
I can do so many skills , because of my love for Sports Cars.
About the only thing you'll never do with a Europa: get in or out gracefully.
@@104thDIVTimberwolf and how many hyper and super cars have the exact same issue??? See how
Ahead of its time it was?...you also need very narrow shoes
@@MindDezign yup.
If you are the Tom that I am thinking of do you still have your Europa? I'm up in the mountains near Aspen.
I have always had a fascination with the Europa. I wish the race car had made it into the film. @Spence you did a fantastic job at conveying the magic of owning and driving a little European sports car from this vintage. This is how I feel when I get to drive my GTV around, so awesome. As always @petrolicious, thanks for the films.
Lovely little car, add lightness! Growing up in the 60's watching shows like The Thunderbirds I came to realise that a proper fast vehicle always had a firewall with diamond stitching behind the pilot, so this was perfect! 👍🇦🇺
THIS RIGHT HERE!!
THIS is what the channel is ALL ABOUT! The owner, driver and story...perfect! I'm glad Petrolicious is back on track after the Turtle Wax disaster, its greatly appreciated👏
Excuse me, what’s the turtle wax disaster?
@@RP-kr2kb well, 2 yrs ago they were a joke but since then they've come out of the 50's and into the 20's....the 2020 s😉
@@klasseact6663 oh i see haha thanks✌️
@@RP-kr2kb I'm sorry, I didn't read through the entire exchange, let me explain further. A couple years ago Turtle Wax became a sponsor on this channel. Its former owners must've been contacted by them and a partnership was formed. During the short movie, the owner would wash his car and use Turtle Wax and their products. Now at the time I knew the owners of these cars would never ever use Turtle Wax on their pride and joy, it was oh so fake and cheapened the channel.
I still don't wanna see product placement on Petrolicious because these vids are perfect but I know money is money but still, hoping that they stay pure. In closing Turtle Wax has come back and I mean come back STRONG and joined the 21st century, welcome to the world TW👍❗
@@klasseact6663 incredible, never knew about this
I grew up with a Europa in the garage and the shots of the switches and the seats really brought me back. Miss you, dad!
Love this video. You captured the car nut mentality perfectly.
This is actually what I feel like as a Saab owner, actually enjoying the process of learning all the quirks and details needed to own and maintain really nice adn somewhat rare cars. After owning and bringing several of them back from previous owner neglect, you do get to the point of noticing a lot of problems as they just start to appear, vs being left on the side of the road.
People think I am crazy for buying and saving them, but it is enjoyable.
Have never lived in southern California, but I feel well acquainted with these roads. Every auto and motorcycle show on yt and elsewhere seems to run them.
That is funny you say that.Im in Florida, but I feel the same way so many car videos are shot on these roads I feel very familiar with them.Im recognizing the land scapes , it is great you mentioned this!
The under rated orange slice. Lotus makes amazing vehicles
Only downside... That race car he speaks of... Would have been epic to have a shot of them side by side ;)
Agreed.
They have never been side by side actually! The race car has been sitting in a garage 30 miles away the whole time I've had this orange car! Soon they'll be united.
@@spencercanon I agree Petrolicious should have combined the two into the video.
A great video as it stands an epic video if there were TWO.
The world awaits part II
God thats a good follow up...come on now Petrolicious
I bought my 71' 240Z from a shed, it was orange and I just wasn't sure about it, now I consider it THE Z color, I repainted it the original color with single stage paint and I love it. Orange cars unite! I would love a rally Z or a G nose race car.
@@415s30 I agree Z cars look great in straight colors like orange / red /and white.
The metalic the only one i like is the blue but I wished Datsun had a factory straight blue.
Straight( none metalic ) colors on sports cars make them look more like a "car model" or a "toy".
I always thought metalic on sports cars were like a weight lifter in a suit. Looks out of place "a little"
I will have something cool in orange in the future. A Europa
Is a perfect car for orange because its so tiny.
Im painting both of my Z cars the brightest white I can get thats non metalic non pearl. Because its not a very large car...bigger than a miata for sure. But no corvette.
That was my car! Mustard Colour 1969 S54! Lots of memories...
Terrific ! Gives me encouragement to finish both my Type 54 and my Type 65 Europas.
Love your patience with the head lamp rings . Upholstery work great.
I mounted riv-nuts in the seat rails to save scraped knuckles getting wrenches in and out
Well Done Enjoy the drive! Geoff In Canada
My Dad restored a 73 special from before my birth til my early teens. Deeply rooting my petrol addiction Thanks dad!
This guy is very good with words also. Not an uncommon trait of car guys.
I sat in a Lotus Europa when I was a young boy, they had only just come out and I remember being blown away by the electric windows. The car was Lime Green and was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.
Hey, this is more a love story than a restoration story. Thanks for sharing. I went back to my childhood days, playing with my Matchbox die-cast mini model of this car. Thanks again, and congrats for such dedication.
Driving my Land Rover is like that hahaha, you know every sound and can feel every part, as for restoration I love your take on slowly restoring it your own unique way.
Thank you for the inspirational video! Especially when you say "no problem" to old guys kicking ass on the race track 😅
That's a brave man, dealing with a Lotus Europa. I'd never undertake such a project, but I'm glad he did - thanks for producing the video Petrolicious!
Spence has touched on many of the challenges and victories of committing to the preservation of an automobile, where much of it was handmade. Very inspiring because my E28 M5 is also a "Rolling Restoration". Excellent video.
Lovely video of a special car. Last year I was fortunate enough to have a good drive in a 1968 black badge model (in honour of Jim Clark who died that year). As mentioned, despite not having vast amounts of power, it is beautifully balanced and as rewarding to drive as any car I have driven, including my beloved 964. It is a car that has to be driven - no brains in this baby and that's just how it should be IMHO! Thanks for yet another great auto moment and cheers from Sydney, Aust - Dave
Lots of trouble usually serious 😂 Love the Europa, always wanted big valve in British racing green.
I have owned several Lotus cars from the 60's and 70's. My S2 Europa was the most fragile of the lot, to say nothing about being eye-level with the lugnuts on semi trucks. Congratulations on having a running Europa.
Just got one …a ‘74 and will be redoing it.This has always been a dream of mine to own one
Kudos to this guy for actually getting his hands dirty bringing his dream car to life.
You have to be a designer or a "Sports Car guy to understand the looks and the brilliants of this Design..
Porsche built the 904.
Lotus built the Europa.
Europa even the name is sheer
thinking outside the box.
Ive built two cars from literally
Boxes of parts. You can not get to understand this car any better.
It never was meant for the masses. Every part you hold , had two goals "light" and "low manufacturing cost" .
These are both, extremely hard to accomplish Yet the Europa exists.
In its day it was way ahead of its time.
The future will change from the groups that dont understand
The Sports Car World.
To the small voices that defend the "ART" of this very astute ,design.
You have to have built cars from scratch , or assembled a kit / replicar or even have restored a sports car or two, to fully get it.
I can assure you , ask Gordon Murray about the design of the Europa , you would get a total
360 degree thinking , from the negatives people hang on this awesome " tool" of a sports car..
This is pure Lotus , before crash test era , trying to be light and competitive and affordable....brilliant!!!
J'ai toujours adoré la ligne de cette voiture, dans ce coloris elle est craquante. Et dire qu'elle est motorisé par un moteur de Renault 16. Un véhicule pas comme les autres. Félicitation à don propriétaire 👏👏👏👍
The car that got me into Lotus! My neighbor across the street had one as I was growing up. I am now 54 and love my Evora.
I feel genuinely happy for you
"The Lotus position", made me laugh. Thanks
It's the blue Lotus Esprit guy from earlier :)
Wasn't he rocking a serious stach in that video?
I guess he has enough money to buy an Esprit and 2 Europas.
Also helps to own a business like a lot of the car owners featured here, too. Plus, vintage Lotuses don't really have a huge demand in America, so they're not that expensive--except for the parts.
I did let it go so I could fund my racing. The guy who bought it is here in LA so I still see it regularly. It was his favorite car so he appreciates it and is continuing to upgrade it.
Not really. Sold the Esprit to fund the racing Europa. This orange one came with lots of spares that I have been able to sell and have already broken even on it.
I've always loved the original Europa.... and this one, in this colour, is beautiful, I love it.
Wow. What a great slice. Thank you for sharing.
That paint run on the front gives it character.
It's a feature.
No...no it don't.
lol
I haven't seen one of these since the early 70s here in Canada. What a beautiful car.
My GOD, Petrolicious ! you do read the comments!! A lotus europa awesome.....my challenge to you , Petrolicious is
The 1965 Lola gt ...the cars Ford modeled the GT40 from.
There are three-or four on the planet A british racing green ,vintage track car, a blue and white one thats unrestored pops up in museums / ex john Malcom, a silver one on jay leno's garage
Thank you for putting your ART stamp on the Lotus Europa its deserving of this attention...thank you
Ive had 2 of these Europa's
...the sun cooks your knees .Its so aero dynamic when you roll the Windows down, no air, comes in the car.
When you go to a drive up window you have to reach way up to the window.
Its so feather light you feel its complete lack of weight , you actually feel your self adding your weight as you sit in it.
BUT ITS small enough to hide in. Your garage like a kayak.Till fall when its the most beautiful machine to drive .The big Grin that never leaves your face or your mind , is why I will get another.
I spoke a lot about that in the interview but looks like none of the Europa's history made it in. Unfortunate since the connection to the Ford project really adds to the car's interest I think.
@@spencercanon the Europa stands on its own as a proper gt sports car. But Colin Chapman had a good twist on Eric Broadly .
Both cars are uniquely potent road TOOLS for a Driver that loves to slip ,on , their cars and wear road armor.
@@spencercanon spencer you found your true "car guy" in your Europa's.Thats awesome I feel for guys that dont get it.
The internet is over spilling with
Sports car drag racing ( not a sports cars purpose on this planet)
Smoking tire burnouts till a fire under the car has ignited.Why people burn up their car for a few seconds on video ( stupid)
Or every one pulls out the motor
And fits any motor that gets 500 hp.And a heim joint racing suspension on the street.( stupid fast, uncomfortably dumb)
There are not alot of " sports car drivers " left....or they just get covered up by the 500+ hp,smoking burnout , drag racing , street car , hoonigan crowd.
Im glad to see the Sports Car as it was designed is still being appreciated and NOT just by me.
Great video , great cars, great Sports Car guy.
I had an S2 in the seventies. I loved that car. I still have a TC Special
I had a 1971 S2 and loved it. Bought it brand new for $4,500.00. Still miss it.
my europa story, 1973 , port aransas texas, traded my 1967 pontiac 428 2+2, title for title , for 1973 EUROPA S2, power by renault, daily driver for 8 years, didnt just love the europa, i worshiped it, super fun to drive , unique body style, true mid engine, very reliable, and i was a 20 yr. surfer drivin the f**k out of it all over the texas coast, no AC but didnt care, would strap my HOBIE long board on rear engine deck, engine bay breathers would melt the wax off the board, tragicly , the front end was knocked off by red light runner, thankfully not my feet, im 6 ft. 2, in 1981. took the ins.money, purchased alfa spider veloce quadrofollio, then had lancia beta s, then alfa gt v6 milano, then e type jag, then jag xjs v12, 76 vette, 86 vette, now in my 60s, i am living aboard my 42 ft. Chris Craft sport fisherman and sporting 76 stingray and 06 crossfire as daily drivers , life is good but i still miss my EUROPA
Are you still on the Texas coast? I want to hear your life story
This owner is instantly likable. Well done!
Those old guys... is it possible they peaked at your age but 25 years later are still beating you? Love the video. Race version next?
I love Lotus Europa. Especially the medium-term model type 54.
Nice color ,nice maintenance and beautiful video.
I enjoyed this video,thank you.
Was on a fun car drive in my Alfa Romeo GTV6 with a Europa in the group. Now my Alfa is relatively low, but sitting in my car with the Europa right in front it was something that I could cleanly see over the roof of the oh-so-low Lotus. The Lotus Europa is a cool unique car.
saw a bunch at a local british show recently you cannot fathom how low to the ground these are until you approach one in person
This car was my workhorse in Gran Turismo 2, back in the day. Such an oddball with its "backbone" chassis. I wish it was featured in more games since I read I'm too tall to drive one irl. Nice choice.
Time to drink coffee again!!!
His light blue Esprit from the earlier video was amazing. I'd say this Europa is almost as good! Nice period colour. I think we need a video about his race car now to complete the collection? Good work Spencer.
Followed an Europa the other day. Wasn’t sure what it was at first then recognized it from Gran Turismo. Very cool.
Afraid to get old? I am so glad I am older! I am in better shape now than I ever have been. I can actually get the cars I have always wanted, and keep them on my road. I didn't take up R/C flying until I was 50! I got on a skateboard my first time at 40! Geez, there are better things to be afraid of.
So, having two Europa’s and riding bikes. Great combo. I’ve got the riding bikes part down. Now I just need to find a Lotus for the garage. ;)
Someday I want to be like this guy. Maintenancing everything on my car, from seats to engine.
A VIDEO done wth passion.HEartily recommended
Liked before I even watched the video. The Europa is a great forgotten lotus
Such a unique car you don't see often enough. Great film on a unique car. Awesome work as always.
Total Zen . . . very cool. Respect for Mr Canon!
Always loved the Europa. So unique, so beautiful! Could never afford one when they were new, hard to find now. 100 hp is plenty for a car weighing 1500 lbs. My old Spitfire weighed a little more than that. With only 70 hp was pretty quick!
Nicely done both interior and just the whole of the car looks great. Love the wheels which IMHO many times makes the car look great, or not.
This was the car Colin was hoping Ford would use when they wanted to go racing against Ferrari but they chose to remake the Lola GT instead.
I drove my brothers '74 JPS Europa a couple of times. Not being a large man, 6ft, I had a difficult time ( near panic as I got close to the corner and still looking for the brake petal) finding the brake pedal after coasting out of my driveway and heading to a sharp corner the first time I drove it.
Not a whole lot of room for large feet or large shoes.
I also found it drove remarkably smooth, Like my '74 Elite which has almost 8 inches of travel in the suspension and is the reason most all of the older Lotus's have a decent ride.
My Elite which is heavily modified in the drivetrain area, will make most people wet their pants when taken a corner near the limit, it simply handles that well.
Nice, remember having a matchbox one as a kid.....
I remember reading a review of a Lotus Europa with a 3.5 V8 (ex Rover). Change into third gear at 110mph!
I built an old 7 years back, but spent more time under it than in it. But a wonderful drive. Sweet days.
That was the Lotus type 47. They only made one I think.
I like the Europa and I remember some type 47 racing in Portugal...and even a type 62.
Good video ...as ever.
Looks great, happy that you kept it original!
Beautiful car!! Back in high-school, my dream car was a JPS Edition Europa =)
One of the previous owners must have been a TSD rally enthusiast judging by the stop watches on the dash.
Thanks for sharing! Great story / owner! Keep up the good work Petrolicious!
I have a Lotus 7 and, like some others have noted, his comments could apply to my car as well. Terrific video and great production. In fact, all of your production is first rate.
Lotus owners are often some talented people
A truly unique body style! I love the orange too!
Such great looking cars. The ultimate 'breadvan' Lotus.
This guy is an absolute legend.....
Not a good sewer !! You did a perfect job dude ;) Love it
I've always wanted a Europa.Good video.
Looks great!!
My close friend had one back in the early 80s. As a matter of fact, I helped him rebuild the twin-cam engine. I always liked those 4-cylinder engines. His Dad had a '77 Esprit as well. It seemed like a very smooth and fast revving engine at the time. One thing I hated on the Europa was the gearbox. Good lord, that was a piece of garbage. Finding a gear was close to impossible and when it was in gear it was so sloppy the gear lever felt like it was in neutral. I guess it needed all new shift lever components, because there's no way in Hell someone would buy a new car with a crappy shifter like that. Still, it was a really fun car to drive. Better for my friend because he somehow mastered the shifter.
tscooter. I think the one thing you hated was the shift linkage, not the gearbox. For the 5-speed, the shift linkage was relocated to the left side of the engine/gearbox and totally reworked.
Talking about British automotive electrical problems reminds me of the story of how a British automotive electrical parts manufacturer discovered a company that was making and selling counterfeit electrical parts with their name on them. Normally, they would file a big lawsuit and put them out of business. As the story goes, they didn't, because the counterfeit parts were better made and more reliable than the originals. So, instead of suing them, they gave the counterfeiters a license to make parts under their name.
Awesome, just awesome video. Thank you so much!
Thank you for this great video
This channel is underrated.
Beautiful car, beautiful watch ;)
I wanted one of these SO BAD when I was in High School back in the early 70s. Or an Opal GT.....
This video was shot very well.
Extremely professional.
Love this video, now please let's see the race car in another video!
Love it... I am right there with you brother! If only I lived in a warmer country.lol
Wonderful car
I drove one of my friends in the 70's. Smallest foot pedals but crazy light and agile. Under 1500 #s is go cart. The old mini coopers are similar experience.
Just think of it. 3/4 the weight of an Elise!
GREAT OWNER, GREAT CAR,,,THANKS BEAUTIFUL VIDEO.
Another great piece, Petrolicious, thanks for the great work
real cars have lived. like this.
This guy understands......
I fell in love with these from watching the movie 11 Harrowhouse. In the early seventies I could have found one of these easily if I could have afforded one. Now even if I could afford one there too hard to find.
I wonder if there is room in a Europa to take out the 85 horsepower engine and put in a Buick 3.8 L turbocharged V6.... the engine out of the Buick Grand National that was faster than a Corvette in the early 80s the Grand National weighed 3800 lb and that Europa was weigh less than half that at 1500. Can you imagine how fast that little star could be if you could cram that grand national engine in there somehow.
Norman, you need a transmission that will work for mid-engine car. (Engine is pointed backwards.)
George Best had one of these back in the day. Didnt they call them builders wagons? The back is kinda funny 😄
amazing video, I currently have 8 Lotus Europa's .. including one in Carnival Red which is a brighter orange (Tara King's The Avengers Car) a Red Race Car with race number 5's and a Black JPS amonst others .... mine are all Matchbox Superfast S1's but I do all the things you do including making black interiors and looking underneath!
Thx for posting my all time favorite.
God of all the cars
Lovely car Spencer! And great video too. I wonder what racing one is like? Must be so much fun!