Lotus Europa S
Following the M250 concept of 1999 comes the eagerly awaited mid-size Lotus: the Europa S. The new British GT will take on the recently launched Porsche Cayman S when it goes on sale in July next year, similar in its mid-engine two-seat coupe concept. Though some parts are shared with the smaller Elise and Exige cars, the Europa S is altogether a different proposition: described as 'business class' by the press kit, the new car even has carpets. However, the Lotus philosophy remains intact as their engineers have kept weight down to 995kg – or over 300kg less than the Cayman.
Powered by the same two-liter turbocharged unit as found in the Opel Speedster, its 200PS means 0-62mph is dealt with in 5.5s, while top speed is 140mph. Prices are expected to slip in under the $50,000 mark – though the Europa S will not be available in America.

Damn, they should have put a toyota V6 in there. :D
Hmm, the back end is iffy and the squared off look between the roof and the side windows looks unfinished.
Other than that its pretty cool.
Does it remind anyone else of a 90's MR2?

 

wow looks nothing like the old europa (thank god lol)

 

I think if you took a 2002-2004 RSX and an Exige and mashed them together, that's exactly what it would look like. And that's not a bad thing. Just interesting.

 

eww. recycled parts.

rsx headlights and sky/solstice tailights. way to be creative. just steal other companies stuff........

 

oh schnit. and a 140mph top speed? WEAK

 

In general, I agree. . . but Loti? Lotuses? havn't really been too huge on speed (well. . . except for the Turbo Espirit V8. . . but, they've been huge on the razor sharp handling department. The Exige/Elise exhibit some of the best handling properties of most any production car.

But then again, this thing looks like a bit of a porker compared to the Exige/Elise. It's probably a production attempt to cash in on their current success (in terms of demand, at least).

 

Ahh, it brings back memories. I assure you the first Europas didn't feel "weak" blasting around the backroads & country lanes of England!! It had more power than this 'ol boy dared use. Picture a one and a quarter lane road, with 12 foot high hedges on both sides, 90 degree turns and hump-back bridges ever so often! Then throw in a few Land Rovers, Minis racing each other and the occasional farm implement and it gave a new meaning to "pleasure driving!" It was a different time. A time when men were men and the sheep were nervous!

 

sheep were nervous. lol. NICE

 

I bet you could beat that with your Irridium spark plugs, right?

 

He does have a point though. . . a $20,000 Neon SRT-4 will easily hit 140, but the $50,000 Lotus can't do any better. But like I said, top speed hasn't exactly been a Lotus's bragging point. They've strictly focused on handling. . . on their roadsters anyway.

 

for me only having say 105 -110 whp.. and going 125 top speed . i'd say yes.

i don't even have the sparkplugs installed yet anyways. just waitin for 30k to roll around. only like 500 miles left .

 

Not necessarily such a bad thing. Have you ever sat in the driver's seat of an Elise? I have -- and I wouldn't be able to drive it, as much as I'd love to own one. I'm simply too big for it at 6'4". My right knee ends up wedged between the steering wheel and the shift lever -- I don't think I'd even be able to get it into reverse. (Also, getting out of the car resulted in quite a spectacle. There's no way of doing it while maintaining any sort of dignity.)

So I think it sucks that the Europa won't be available in the US. I probably would actually fit in one. And I'd very seriously consider buying one after I've paid off some debt and gotten a few more raises.

--mark