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1967 Lotus Europa

Coupe

This Lotus 47 GT/60 was built in December of 1967 and delivered to Lotus Midwest. In September of 1972, Michael Rahal purchased this Lotus and entered several IMSA events that fall.

In May of 1973, Bobby Rahal attended an SCCA Drivers' School at the Mid-America Raceway in Wentzville, MO. Upon earning his regional license, Bobby competed the following day and earned his first victory. Bobby went on to win several more regional SCCA events throughout May, June and July. In late summer, the Rahals sold their GT/60 to Doak Benz of Lodi, California. Following a brief search Bobby repurchased the GT/60 in April of 2009. The car retains its original drivetrain and all other major components.

Coupe
Chassis number: GT 47 15

By the mid-1960s, Colin Chapman and his company had produced no less than 36 distinctive Lotus automobiles. Yet, Mr. Chapman did not want to rest on his laurels and wanted to build an inexpensive mid-engine production car with a race version for Team Lotus and for sale to privateers. Thus the Type 46 (or Europa) was born. It made its introduction in 1965 and had a box-section central spine chassis with a John Frayling designed fiberglass body. Chapman secured drivetrains from the Renault 16 and modified them to produce 80 horsepower.

As 1966 came to a close, the Type 47GT racing model had been born. It appeared at Brands Hatch and won in the hands of John Miles, who would go on to win eight more times during that season. Powering the 47GT was a Cosworth/Ford twin-cam engine, bored out to 1594cc, and tuned to produce 165 horsepower. The engine was mated to a Hewland magnesium FT200 limited-slip transaxle. Tecalamit-Jackson fuel injection was standard with twin Webers available as optional equipment.

The Type 47GT was a versatile vehicle that could be supplied with or without an engine or transmission. The rear independent suspension was sourced from the Lotus 59 single-seater and with the front suspension from the Triumph Vitesse. Ventilated disc brakes were placed at all four corners. The lightweight chassis weighed a mere 600 (to 650 kg) and the bodywork had a drag coefficient of 0.29.

By 1968, production of the 47 had come to a close after an estimated 50-70 left the factory.

This particular example was one of five identical 47GTs delivered new, in white, from the factory to Portugal's Team Palma. Four examples were sold to gentleman drivers, but this example was retained by Team Palma. Each of the cars were given Cosworth 1.6-liter twin-cam engines. GT-105 would later receive a Cosworth FVA.

The first race for GT-015 was on July 30th of 1967 at Circuito de Montes Claros. One of four 47GTs entered, it finished well back. In August, Fernandes won at Vila do Conde - the second outing for the car.

GT-015 then traveled to Brazil in December for the Mil Milhas Brasileiras at Interlagos. Unfortunately it fell out on lap 180 from suspension failure. A week later it raced at Interlago where it placed fifth.

In 1968 Fernandes ran in the GP do ACP at Granja do Marques where it won by almost fifteen seconds over José Lampreia's 47GT-026. The remainder of the 1968 season included two DNFs and a 9th. In 1969, the car passed to Ernesto Neves, who ran four races that year for a 13th, 2nd and two unclassified finishes.

For 1970, the original engine was replaced with a Cosworth FVA engine. Neves used it in three races that year to earn a DNF and two 3rds.

by Dan Vaughan

The Lotus Europa was built from 1966 through 1975 and was one of the first vehicles to use a mid-engine rear-wheel drive layout. During its production lifespan, around 9,300 examples were produced. Ron Hickman, the directory of Lotus Engineering, produced drawings in 1963. The vehicle sat low and was designed as a replacement for the popular Lotus 7.

The first series constructed was the Type 46 Series 1, also known as S1. The Type 47 was the competition sports car. Colin Chapman, the owner of Lotus Cars, designed the Europa around his 'minimalist' beliefs, meaning the vehicle was only given the materials that it needed and all efforts were made to reduce the overall weight of the vehicle. The vehicle was to be inexpensive performance machine. The chassis was constructed of steel while the body was fiberglass. The fiberglass body was bonded to the chassis meaning repair was difficult. The windows and seats were fixed and not adjustable. The steering and pedals were adjustable. An OHV 1470 cc four-cylinder Renault engine and gearbox were used to power the vehicle. The front brakes were discs while in the back were drums. In total, around 650 examples of the S1 were created.

In April of 1968 the next installment, the Series 2, was introduced. Also known as the Type 54, or S2, it brought about luxurious and revised interior amenities such as adjustable seats, wood trim, and much-needed electric windows. The 1470 cc Renault engine was borrowed from the Type 46. In 1969, in an effort to export to the US market and to comply with United States federal regulations and standards, the Type 65, also known as S2 Federal, was created. The S2 Federal featured a Renault 1565 cc engine and modifications to the body for compliant with US D.O.T. standards.

In 1971 Lotus introduced the Type 74 Europa TC, meaning Twin-Cam. Outfitted with a 1558 cc twin-cam engine and a Renault five-speed manual gearbox, the vehicle was capable of producing just over 100 horsepower. The body was enlarged to provide extra interior room for passengers. In total, around 1580 examples were produced.

In 1973, Lotus introduced the Europa TC Special. It was given a Austin five-speed manual gearbox and a Lotus Big Valve engine that produced 126 horsepower. Zero-to-sixty took just seven seconds while top speed of the 740 kg machine was 123 mph. In total, 3,130 examples were produced.

In 1975, production ceased.

by Dan Vaughan