What is it?
2006 Lotus Europa S
What's special about it?
Above all else, the Lotus Elise roadster and Exige coupe are built for performance. Their ultralightweight chassis and pinpoint handling make them great for embarrassing 911s on freeway ramps, but the price is paid in comfort. The tiny sports cars are not only hard to get into, their interiors are as plush as a jail cell.
Lotus heard the complaints, and the Europa S is its answer. It uses the same chassis as the Elise, so it's still a featherweight compared to most performance coupes. At 2,193 pounds it's 1,401 pounds lighter than a Porsche Cayman S. The Europa's door sills have been lowered to make getting in easier and there are larger door openings, too.
Unlike the bare-bones cabins of the Elise and Exige, the inside of the Europa is closer to a typical sports car. The seats are the same ones used in the Elise, but the Europa's are covered in leather. The dash gets leather trim, too, along with the steering wheel, center console and doors. Air conditioning, electric windows and satellite navigation come standard as well.
We asked Tony Shute, head of product for Lotus, if the Europa might give the impression that Lotus is going a little soft. "Definitely not. We made some compromises with the Europa, but drive it and you'll feel that it's still very much a Lotus," he explained. After 20 years at Lotus he would know.
Tony went on to point out the Europa's other key features which distinguish it from the Elise and Exige. Although the Europa uses the same suspension, it was retuned specifically for the extra weight and unique 17-inch wheels and tires. For power, the Europa uses a GM-sourced 2.0-liter, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine and a six-speed manual gearbox.
With 200 horsepower at 5,400 rpm and 194 pound-feet of torque at 4,200 rpm the Europa has plenty of accessible midrange power. Lotus claims a 0-to-60-mph time of 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 140 mph. Nothing soft about those numbers.
Set to go on sale in most world markets this fall, there are no plans to sell the Europa in the U.S. at this time. Lotus has more than enough capacity to build more than the 500 Europas it hopes to sell abroad, but as Tony told us, "We're waiting to see if you can get a big enough response from U.S. customers to justify the certification costs."
What's Edmunds' take?
As much as we love the performance of the Elise, we'll be the first to admit that it's not much fun as a daily driver with its cramped cabin and stiff ride. The Europa looks like a good compromise between adding some comfort without taking away the lightweight chassis and nimble handling. We wouldn't be surprised to see Lotus go through the trouble of certifying the Europa for the U.S. market within the next couple of years. — Ed Hellwig
2006 Lotus Europa S
What's special about it?
Above all else, the Lotus Elise roadster and Exige coupe are built for performance. Their ultralightweight chassis and pinpoint handling make them great for embarrassing 911s on freeway ramps, but the price is paid in comfort. The tiny sports cars are not only hard to get into, their interiors are as plush as a jail cell.
Lotus heard the complaints, and the Europa S is its answer. It uses the same chassis as the Elise, so it's still a featherweight compared to most performance coupes. At 2,193 pounds it's 1,401 pounds lighter than a Porsche Cayman S. The Europa's door sills have been lowered to make getting in easier and there are larger door openings, too.
Unlike the bare-bones cabins of the Elise and Exige, the inside of the Europa is closer to a typical sports car. The seats are the same ones used in the Elise, but the Europa's are covered in leather. The dash gets leather trim, too, along with the steering wheel, center console and doors. Air conditioning, electric windows and satellite navigation come standard as well.
We asked Tony Shute, head of product for Lotus, if the Europa might give the impression that Lotus is going a little soft. "Definitely not. We made some compromises with the Europa, but drive it and you'll feel that it's still very much a Lotus," he explained. After 20 years at Lotus he would know.
Tony went on to point out the Europa's other key features which distinguish it from the Elise and Exige. Although the Europa uses the same suspension, it was retuned specifically for the extra weight and unique 17-inch wheels and tires. For power, the Europa uses a GM-sourced 2.0-liter, four-cylinder, turbocharged engine and a six-speed manual gearbox.
With 200 horsepower at 5,400 rpm and 194 pound-feet of torque at 4,200 rpm the Europa has plenty of accessible midrange power. Lotus claims a 0-to-60-mph time of 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 140 mph. Nothing soft about those numbers.
Set to go on sale in most world markets this fall, there are no plans to sell the Europa in the U.S. at this time. Lotus has more than enough capacity to build more than the 500 Europas it hopes to sell abroad, but as Tony told us, "We're waiting to see if you can get a big enough response from U.S. customers to justify the certification costs."
What's Edmunds' take?
As much as we love the performance of the Elise, we'll be the first to admit that it's not much fun as a daily driver with its cramped cabin and stiff ride. The Europa looks like a good compromise between adding some comfort without taking away the lightweight chassis and nimble handling. We wouldn't be surprised to see Lotus go through the trouble of certifying the Europa for the U.S. market within the next couple of years. — Ed Hellwig
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