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Lotus Europa Forums => Members Cars => Topic started by: LeftAngle on Monday,June 12, 2017, 04:59:37 PM

Title: My Type 65 is now a Type 66 Prototype
Post by: LeftAngle on Monday,June 12, 2017, 04:59:37 PM
We all know Lotus never designed a Type 66 car.  The Type 65 was the last Europa they made.  I've always wondered what the Europa would have looked like if it's racing days weren't fading.  And rather than replacing it with a new design, the Esprit, to bring aesthetics into the mix, they decided to mix a mild Type 47 look to the Europa.   The photo is of 659R as picked up from a barn in Kentucky in 2012, and how it looks today. 

Lotus designers would have never added the "look at my motor" window, or most likely the front fender vents, which I did because the car's for show and it's mine.  But every single panel of the car has been designed and reshaped to a new form, with the exception of the doors.  A lot of work went into making the car look factory designed, with forms that work together in a 1970s aesthetic.
Title: Re: My Type 65 is now a Type 66 Prototype
Post by: LotusJoe on Monday,June 12, 2017, 05:04:43 PM
WOW, you have done a lot of modifications!
Title: Re: My Type 65 is now a Type 66 Prototype
Post by: BDA on Monday,June 12, 2017, 05:15:12 PM
Great work, Left! Very nicely done!


 :lotus:
Title: Re: My Type 65 is now a Type 66 Prototype
Post by: jbcollier on Monday,June 12, 2017, 05:56:24 PM
http://www.classicteamlotus.co.uk/en/news/posts/2016/the-lotus-that-never-blossomed/

The Europa TC was the type 74.
Title: Re: My Type 65 is now a Type 66 Prototype
Post by: Certified Lotus on Tuesday,June 13, 2017, 03:30:42 AM
Very nicely executed! Would like to see more photos from different angles. Could you post some?
Title: Re: My Type 65 is now a Type 66 Prototype
Post by: LeftAngle on Tuesday,June 13, 2017, 10:32:13 AM
Thanks for the info, JB.  No, I wasn't being dyslexic.  My mind was somewhere else.  I meant type 62. 

Very interesting article.  But since the type never was officially designated, I still get to live my fantasy.  😊
Title: Re: My Type 65 is now a Type 66 Prototype
Post by: Lotus7 on Wednesday,June 14, 2017, 09:54:31 AM
Nice looking car. I think we both did very similar things to our cars. But that's what we get to do with our stuff! Well done!