The Lotus Elise was a resounding success, but its sister model failed to make it as far.
Lotus is in the same predicament with the Emira as they were a while ago. The increasingly tough car market demands more than one sports car to survive. Now that is solved with an electric SUV and sedan.
Lotus Elise
At the time of the Lotus Elise, the only model that Lotus sold after the Esprit was discontinued, they had to expand to sell more cars. Sure, there was the Exige, but that model is even more exclusive than the Elise in terms of hard numbers. So they had to come up with a car that was Lotus through and through, but that appealed to a wider audience. Lotus, and the then boss GM, felt that the Lotus Elise was a bit too spartan and focused.
Lotus Europe
The answer came in the form of the Lotus Europa S in 2006. The basis was the same as the Lotus Elise, only the Toyota engine was traded in for a slightly more average GM Ecotec block with 200 hp. The Europa was heavier than the Elise, but at 970 kg it was still no BMW M5. The focus was a little more on decoration, although ‘less spartan’ would be a better description. It was only available as a coupe and with a slightly different appearance than the Elise.
And did it work? No, not really. The Europa S was sold for quite a few years, but Lotus only managed to build 456 of them. In total. Even for Lotus, that’s bizarrely few. The Europa was eventually succeeded by the Evora, which made the same recipe a little more popular.
Occasion
Now there is a Lotus Europa S for sale and we can look back at what you get. The styling makes it a bit more unique than the Elise, whether you like it or not is up to you to decide. The example in question is silver-grey, not the best colour. The simple Compomotive rims suit the car quite well.
It is not the only thing that is no longer standard on this Lotus Europa S. It has new mufflers, a stainless steel exhaust system, a new diffuser and a ‘SE Turbo’, which we assume is the slightly more powerful turbo from the later Europa SE.
In the interior, a ‘homemade’ carbon fiber package has been added. The Lotus Europa S was intended as the dressed up version, but this example is very pure and focused. It seems a bit redundant, but it works in itself.
Buy
And that in a 2006 Lotus Europa S with 120,000 kilometers on the counter. Unknown, unloved, perhaps even misunderstood. And that’s a shame, because it was a pretty good idea to be able to survive without an SUV. For 34,950 euros you can own this piece of Lotus survival instinct via Marktplaats.
