4AGE Toyota TwinCam: 1972 Lotus Europa
The modern day Lotus Elise is (was…I believe Lotus stopped selling it in the US market a few years ago) a great combination of British handling/looks and Japanese powerplant. It took a while for Lotus to realize that putting French engines into their sports cars was not an upgrade over British iron. Regardless, the builder of this next car decided to put a late model fuel injected twin-cam Toyota engine into the engine bay in an Europa (a Europa…?) and made something very special. Find this 1972 Lotus Europa twin-cam offered for $20,000 in Ft Collins, CO via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
From the seller:
1972 Lotus Europa Twin Cam
condition: good
cylinders: 4 cylinders
drive: rwd
fuel: gas
odometer: 40000
paint color: yellow
size: sub-compact
title status: clean
transmission: manual
type: coupe
My TC is highly modified mechanically – 1991 Japanese 4AGE 16V 1.6L small port FI engine (140-150 HP), ceramic coated headers. Renault NG3 5-speed transmission box. Toyota gear shifter box with cable shift set up. Miata rear disc brakes, Nissan F10 truck brake master & Honda slave cylinder. VW Rabbit full-size radiator in front. Added AC, it blows cold air. Upgraded front roll bar drop links. Special twin links rear suspension. Twin SS gas tanks (7.5 gallons x 2).Brazilian cherry wood dash. Sony radio with CD 52wx4 output. Black with black & white cloth insert.TPI Tech gauges. Electric windows work great. Subaru third brake light. Sequential arrow red LED turn signals. Interstate battery. Silver powder coated OEM wheels. Kumho Solus TA11 175/70 13 tires. To improve the airflow for the front radiator, an extra vented semi-gloss black carbon fiber wrapped hood was added, original yellow hood included.
A few scratches. The TPI Tech fuel sensor is not working, the gauge is. Speedo is not functioning well under 50 mph. No sun visors. Black cloth headliner.
Body-off restoration by PO from Houston, TX. I have owned it since 2015. $20,000.
See a better way to drive something fun and yellow? tips@dailyturismo.com
The lust is strong for this one… My first thought was Only 160hp? Small valve? I want power! before remembering it weighs 1500lbs. Looks like all the right stuff went into it, purists be damned! and air conditioning? Wow. Screaming deal for someone not into concours.
As much as I’m really digging this mashup of automotive genetics, it instills in me a strong desire to go buy a mint condition 1st gen MR2 instead…
Great car and a good engine to transplant in, just make sure that you can fit in before bidding. I went to check out a much rougher one a few years back and could not fit my 6 ft frame comfortably. Just found it claustrophobic.
Looking at all the stuff they’ve changed, maybe they pushed the seat back too.
O_o
Oh, right, there’s a wall there.
If it’s anything like my 914, the trick for a tall person is to move the seat forward a little and lean it back. Suddenly what was a bang your head on the roof and the rollbar with limited visibility situation is like driving in a vast livingroom-like space by comparison. I wish the Boxster had some of that roominess.
Of course, the Europa makes the 914 look pretty big.
Speaking of stuff changed, the rear suspension is now a leading arm setup. Supposedly this makes the effective wheelbase longer in terms of squat and dive as well as having some interesting roll steer characteristics. More Frank Kurtis than Colin Chapman. This is a pretty interesting car. Crash protection is still a step above a wet cardboard box and a step below any random Vespa.
Getting in the car is only half the battle. I probably wouldn’t be able to get out of it!