1969 | Lotus Europa

The Lotus Europa used Lotus founder Colin Chapman's minimalist steel backbone chassis, which was first used in the Elan, while also relying on its fibreglass moulded body for structural strength, and was based on a prototype built to compete for Henry Ford II's contract to build a Le Mans racing car in the early 1960's. The four-wheel independent suspension was typical of Chapman's thinking. The rear suspension was a modified Chapman strut, as used for Chapman's earlier Formula racing car designs with the handling prompting automotive writers to describe the Europa as the nearest thing to a Formula car for the road. The Series One was announced for sale in 1966 and was fitted with a modified Renault 16, 1470cc, inline-four engine and a four-speed gearbox. The Europa was designed and built to be an embodiment of Chapman's oft-stated philosophy of automotive design; "simplify, then add lightness".

This beautiful Lotus Yellow example was treated to £34,000 worth of restoration work in the 2010's, with a Club Lotus report in 2017 verifying it as an original example retaining its original chassis plate and being in excellent condition throughout. Our vendor has also spent in excess of £5,000 at highly respected Lotus specialists Hoffman's in 2025, including a new brake master cylinder, carb rebuild, replacement of a drive shaft seal, some replumbing of radiator pipes, strip down and rebuild of rear suspension and various bits of rewiring. The car is now ready to be enjoyed by its next custodian and is certainly one of the nicest Europa's we have seen. Also included in the history file is an order form for the second owner dated 1970, Mr Clymo who would go on to keep the car for 47 years, only selling it in 2017, with our vendor taking over custodianship in 2019. These cars are seriously impressive to drive with handling characteristic many modern cars can only dream of and this example shouldn't be missed. Consigned by Fraser Smith

Lot details
Year: 1969
Make: Lotus
Model: Europa S2
Registration: LVG 262H
Chassis No: 54/1932
Odometer: 88,845


* Over £5,000 spent at Hoffman's Lotus specialists since November 2024

* Excellent history file containing original Lotus warranty details and order form

* Beautifully presented in desirable Lotus Yellow