Your Ride: 1973 Lotus Europa Twin Cam

Posted on 03 May 2014 by Jeff Perez   

@BOLD RIDE                        

Often, our Your Ride segment is an influx of American muscle cars, all gorgeous in their own right. But this week, one of our readers, Hoyt, sent us a submission that really caught our attention; a 1973 Lotus Europa Twin Cam. One of the rarest coupes on the market today.

It was a long road for Hoyt and his little Lotus, but in the end, the candy apple red dream car was sitting pretty in his driveway. We’ll let Hoyt tell you his story:

 

“My ride is a 1973 Lotus Europa Twin Cam, ‘Special Edition.’ While in the Navy, I saved $3,400 to buy a New Nissan 240Z, came home on leave to find out there was a 6 month waiting list for the car. I picked up a NY Times and started browsing the classifieds. There were a lot of Jaguar E-Types, but then I saw the Europa.”



“I had seen one when I was 19 working as a mechanic. A crowd of people had gathered out in front of the shop to gawk at the amazingly low and unique design. I purchased the ’67 and drove to my new duty station; The USS Lexington in Pensacola, Florida.

 I got out of the Navy in 1971 and returned home to NY with the car. The car was low and could corner like a go-cart. I sold the car in 1973 and purchased a BMW 2002.”



“Fast forward 40 years, I’m now retired and find my dream car on Ebay — a 1973 Lotus Europa Twin Cam. I purchased the car in 2011 and had it flat-bedded to my home in South Carolina.

The car had been sold to the previous owner at an estate sale on Long Island, New York. He purchased two Lotus Elans and the Europa at the sale. His heart was with the Elans, and he needed cash to paint them.”



“The Europa had been about 60% restored and needed interior work on the dash and rewiring, including electric window rebuilding. All that has been done and the car is in line for a paint job. Only 3,100 of these cars were produced by Lotus.

 They vanished in the mid 70′s because of bumper and headlight requirements, so the car has tripled in value in the last three years. There are only 50 left in the UK.”