New Europa - not for North America though

[78Z]

Its now offical. Looks good - must be running out of E names to re-use the Europa name on a GT. The origional Europa wasn't sold in North America (the series one wasn't sold even in the UK ) to begin with either so there is some hope.

https://www.leftlanenews.com/?p=862

 

[aeronca65t]

Now that is actually a car I'd like for the street (if it was affordable...which I doubt).
Behind it all, it appears to be a stretched Elise. They are a little tight for me. This would be *just perfect*.

Interesting that they would recycle the Europa name....the orignal Europa did not have great reviews and even now, they are not particularly valuable (though I think they are sort of neat).

 

[Nunyas]

I guess affordable is in the eye of the beholder... errrr... in the wallet of the beholder rather. The article quoted an expected MSRP of 49000 Euros. At current conversion rates that's about $57,700 USD. A bit more expensive than the Elise and Exige. Then again, this Europa S seems to be a different bread of car all together. The Lotus website is predicting the car to be 995KG, with 200HP and 200lbsft of torque, from a 2000cc turbo charged engine. Other items of interest are the practicalness of the car is much better than the Elise due to larger luggage space, and egress is supposed to be much easier. Let's not forget the full leather and carpeted interior... heh. (Lotus Europa Sepcs on the official Lotus site) Seems to be a more 'civilized' beast than the Elise and Exige... in print anyways... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Lotus's site seems to be placing the car as a GT (Grand Tourer) or "Business Class". Looks like a great car to me... but like the Elise and Exige out of my wallet range. If this is meant to target the GT market, I'm not totally sure what cars fall into that class... What cars would that be... BMW? Merc Benz? Mustangs? Civics? Maximas? Lexus? Evolutions & WRX STi's? *shrug* Grand Tourer seems to be an overly generic term that's loosely applied to a wide range of cars that have an extremely wide range of performance...

At the expected price point, I'd have to gander at BMW, Merc Bez and other Sport "luxury" cars being primary competitors... Good looking car over all... with a lot of competition to over come... I hope it does well and gets to see the light of day on our side of the pond. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DrEntropy]

My "snipe" strategy of Lotus procurement has always been thus: Wait 'til the local dentist/doctor/lawyer soon-to-be PO has made a trip to the dealership and paid for the first non-warranty service, or the thing pooped out someplace and needed to be brought home on a hook 'cause he had no practical automotive MacGyverin' skills.... A ~MUCH~ reduced price will make the aquisition of a Lotus nearly palatable /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Nunyas]

hmmmmm... I wonder how long it'll take for one of these new type Lotuses... or would that be Loti? anyways, I wonder how long it'll take before one of these new types breaks down with the Nippon technology in the engines...

 

[DrEntropy]

Wouldn't count on it bein' th' engine wot gives out. It'll more likely be th' owner's patience/wallet/wife wot'll make th' decision for 'em with that model, IYSWIM. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Nunyas]

ya know... I really like the styling of the new Europa S... Not quite as agressive looking as an Elise/Exige but still has enough agressiveness/style to be a real head turner

 

[kennypinkerton]

Way overpriced I think, but then again you can get a '05/6 Mustang GT for less than $30,000 US. At over 250 HP, and tame manners at the table (and nice, but arguable/opinionated design features), I think all the "GT" manufacturers should be shooting at the ford's price range, or just under them!

You know, for $57,000 Dollars, you can get a really nice, slightly used Viper, C-6 Corvette, Ferrari, Aston Martin, XKE, or half a dozen of good vintage Loti.

 

[Nunyas]

yeah... but even with a higher horse power engine the Stang has to overcome the weight difference....

maybe it's targetting the more upscale GT market? like the Infiniti version of the 350Z? *shrug*

 

[DrEntropy]

[ QUOTE ]

You know, for $57,000 Dollars, you can get a really nice, slightly used Viper, C-6 Corvette, Ferrari, Aston Martin, XKE, or half a dozen of good vintage Loti.

[/ QUOTE ]

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