Successful Elise and Exige racer Chris Randall had his Eureka! moment recently, having realised that the current-shape Europa could be just the thing with which to contest the 2009 Elise Trophy. Yes, we know it’s called Elise Trophy, but the Europa entry has been accepted on the grounds that it shares the same basic chassis as the S2 Elise/Exige.

Randall’s decision to race the Europa, the first to appear in competition, comes more than forty years after the original made its’ race debut, winning first-time out, so there’s a challenge for Chris!

Lotus introduced the Type 46 Europa in 1966, the first new design to come from the Hethel factory. Conceived as a cheap sports car with the intention that it would replace the Seven, it featured a backbone chassis, similar in concept to the Elan, but this time with a mid-mounted engine. The 1470cc engine and transaxle was sourced complete from the front-wheel-drive Renault 16 saloon. The early Europa's were indeed fairly simple, with fixed side windows, fixed seats and the like.

Nevertheless Lotus Components recognised the competition potential of the aerodynamically efficient Europa and they set-to to produce their own version of the car, designated Type 47. They quickly discarded the Renault mechanicals, replacing them with a Cosworth-tuned 1594cc Lotus Twin-Cam engine mated to a Hewland FT200 gearbox. Works cars used Tecalemit-Jackson fuel injection, but the majority of customers preferred the relative simplicity of Weber carburettors. That fuel injection was a little troublesome and the first car was actually burnt-out whilst testing, thanks to fuel pressure being too much for a plastic pipe!

Whilst the car looked outwardly similar to production versions, apart from the twin ‘snorkels’ sprouted by some cars, underneath there were many differences. Front suspension remained broadly similar but the rear uprights were replaced with light alloy items, whilst the balance of the all-round Girling disc brakes was adjustable front to rear. The original Europa body was bonded to the chassis, which proved to be somewhat impractical for repairs, so the Type 54 S2 Europa introduced in 1968 featured a detachable body. Lotus Components followed suit, the 47 becoming 47A.

A total of 55 examples of 47/47A were thought to have been built, although it was doubtful whether the 50-off examples required in time for homologation in 1968 as a Group 4 sports car were actually produced.

The Type 47 made its race debut at Brands Hatch on Boxing Day 1966, when Lotus Components entered a pair of plain white cars in the 10-lap British Eagle Trophy race for John Miles and Jackie Oliver to drive. On a typically damp, dismal day Miles simply shot away from pole position at the start to demolish the opposition, giving the Europa a first-time out victory. Oliver, by contrast, qualified third but was left standing on the grid when the car refused to start. A push-start sent him off on a determined drive all the way up to second place at the flag, only to receive a 60-second penalty for that push-start, propelling him all the way back to last place.

Although the 47 did not meet with great success on the international scene, Miles and Oliver teamed-up to drive the works entry in the 1967 BOAC 500 at Brands Hatch, a round of the sports car World Championship, where they finished ninth overall and won the 2-litre Prototype class. Miles contested a fairly successful season of national racing, whilst privateer cars in the hands of the likes of John Blades and Malcolm Wayne had their fair share of glory too.

Things stepped-up a gear in 1968 when newly-arrived Team Lotus sponsors John Player applied their eye-catching Gold Leaf livery to a pair of works 47’s in addition to the Grand Prix cars. The cars, still run by Lotus Components, were driven mainly by Miles and Oliver and occasionally by Trevor Taylor, won eight races during the season but were just as likely to retire. Colin Chapman was by now turning his attention to the next development, the 62.

The Europa was not quite finished though, for the 47A debuted in 1969, but the writing was on the wall and with the factory concentrating on the Type 62, it was left to privateers to vainly try and fight off the newer Chevrons that were appearing everywhere.That was not entirely the end for the Europa however. The financial dramas that followed in the wake of the early 1970’s oil crisis (sound familiar?) led to a rethink in the racing world and amongst other things (the reduction in circuit length at Snetterton, for one) a revision of rules for touring and sports car racing in Britain led to the adoption of near-production racing. Enter the Lotus Europa Twin-Cam.

Lotus had introduced the heavily revised (largely the work of current CEO Mike Kimberley) Type 74 Europa Twin-Cam in 1971. As the name suggests, the 1558cc Lotus Twin Cam was now standard equipment, and this received a further boost the following year with an upgrade to ‘Big Valve’ spec.

For three seasons, 1975 – 1977, the British production sports car championships were dominated by Leeds driver Chris Meek’s Europa Twin Cam. So dominant was he that there were persistent rumours of cheating, but nothing was ever proven. In reality, the success was down to the ‘rightness’ of the design. In the main, British circuits tend to be fairly tight with not too many long, fast straights, so the nimble handling and light weight (and yes, Meek’s car did go on a bit of a diet!) overcame the relative lack of power. V12 E-Types and the like might have seen it off in a straight line, but they were no match through the twisty bits.

And so back to the present day. In reality, Chris Randall’s car probably has more in common with Chris Meek’s car than with the earlier Type 47’s – converted road car versus purpose-built racer. After a few seasons of racing Elise and Exige variants, Randall came to the conclusion that he needed something different for the 2009 Elise Trophy series, having become frustrated by such things as weak engines and aerodynamic deficiencies when racing outside the one marque Elise Trophy. Randall has long term plans to race the Europa in other top level GT series, most of which class his previous Honda engine as ineligible thus doing more development on that would have been futile. Talk of an attempt at the 2010 Nürburgring or Spa 24 hour races may be premature but there's no doubt those type of events are in the back of Randall's mind if 2009 goes well.

A close look at the current Europa convinced him that the smoother, more slippery shape coupled with the flatter rear deck and overall increased length would help with the down force. And then of course there was the publicity value to be had from racing a unique vehicle. An eye-catching colour scheme will add to that, and what better than the rumoured black-&-gold scheme so reminiscent of the John Player Special livery.

So, with the decision made, a Europa was duly sourced and is undergoing transformation into a racecar at Hofmann’s workshops in Henley-on-Thames. The standard engine should be more reliable, although he intends to replace the car’s existing Z20LER unit with the Z20LEH version from an Astra VXR as this has a few advantages such as forged pistons.

Suspension will initially remain pretty much as standard, apart from rose-jointing and the utilisation of 3-way Nitron dampers. Rear spring rates will be increased by 50lb as a starting point, whilst standard calipers will form a baseline, but discs will be AP 304mm front, 290mm rear from the outset. One possible bugbear is weight, which Chris hopes he can overcome – perhaps he should have a look at his namesake’s old car.

Now the hard work begins to make Randall's Europa into a race winner:
 

So there you go, Chris. Are you aiming to win first-time out, just like John Miles with the original 47, or are you looking to dominate for three seasons like the other Chris?

For those of you who are interested, you can follow the build progress & read Chris’s blog at

http://www.hofmanns.co.uk/content/index.asp?id=63

It is anticipated that the Europa will make its first public appearance at a track day during March. It's first race outing being at Donington Park on 18-19 April 2009, where the Elise Trophy joins forces with the Lotus show for what will be one of the Lotus highlights of the year.
 

John Elwin
January 2009


Europa Type 47 photos courtesy of www.coteriepress.com
Europa race build photos courtesy of www.hofmanns.co.uk