'69 S2 for sale on BaT

[BDA]

This looks like a very nice car. It even has an ashtray! https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-lotus-europa-4/

[Bainford]

Very tidy. A very nice looking Europa. The Lotus sticker in the middle of the sail panel is a bit of mis-guided clutter on an otherwise clean look. Overall appears to be a great car.

[SwiftDB4]

Interesting that it's a Type 65 but with gasketed windshield. Thought all Federal S2's had bonded windshields, but guess not.

[literarymadness]

It also has the headlight height of a Type 54 (the bumper is below the side markers).  On the type 65, the bumper and side markers are level. Maybe this is one of the the 1969 Type 54s that got sent back to Lotus to be modified Fed Spec and then rebadged as a type 65.

[JR73]

They aren’t the correct side markers and the position of them is out.
Looks like a type 65 from the profile of the front wing, wouldn’t be surprised if it started life in a different country than where it is now.
Nice looking car though.

edit *VIN plates show it to be a type 65*

[literarymadness]

This car looks a lot like this Fed Spec Type 54 with side markers above the bumper line. I think this car was one of the Fed Spec Type 54s that the Feds sent back to Lotus and Lotus re-badged it as a Type 65. No way Chapman was going to eat a couple hundred returned Europas.  More than likely those cars were recycled before the true Type 65s were released.  This car sold for $30,800 at Mecum Aug, 2019.

[RoddyMac]

Looking at the production changes by car number, this car being a 1969 (65/2241) would have had the windscreen retained by glazing rubber, and as its after car 2061 it would have the revised headlamp position.  The production changes shows the 1970 cars were the first with the direct glazed windscreen. But, it's hard to say if it was a 54 revised to 65 spec without putting a 54 beside it.  Personally, I think it is a 65 type body, the front wings don't have the same shape as my car.

[literarymadness]

RoddyMac: Here are some photos of a Fed Spec Type 54.  How does this compare to yours?

http://davidsclassiccars.com/lotus/312156-1969-lotus-europa-federal-type-54-72962-miles-yellow-coupe-1565cc-4-cyl-manual.html

[RoddyMac]

literarymadness,
Mine's not a fed spec, but an early 54.  But, the photo in your link does show the difference in the headlamp position compared to the BaT car.  The 54 headlamps look inset more into the wing, where as the 65 headlamps are sitting a bit higher.  The position of the side marker makes them look similar but they, at least to me, look different:



Here's mine, albeit from the left front rather than right, and keen observers will notice the lack of front bumper 



The 54 has a very slight curve to the top of the wing compared to the flatter 65/TC cars

[literarymadness]

Thanks for the info RoddyMac!  Beautiful Europa.  S2s with Cosmic Rims are lookers for sure.  Almost bought a Fed Spec Type 54 before I bought my TCS. By the time I made up my mind to buy her, she was already sold.

[TurboFource]

So the 65 headlights are farther forward and higher?

[JR73]

They are higher as the front wing profile is different, as Roddy said it’s flatter. Don’t think they are any further forwards, just don’t look as set into the body as they do on the 54 which gives the effect of them sticking out further so to speak.

[TurboFource]

They certainly look better on the early cars!

[BDA]

Something interesting may be happening. There is a very nice Elan S4 for sale at the same time as this Europa (if you're interested, it's here: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-lotus-elan-sprint-6/). Usually an Elan will bring a lot more than a Europa but the Elan is closer to it's end date, a little more than 2 days at the moment for the Elan compared to a little more than four days for the Europa. but the Elan is at  $10,500 and the Europa is at $16,000.

This S2 Europa is a very nice example. Maybe a bit nicer nicer than Elan. That's a personal taste judgement, but the Elan has a Spyder frame which is very desirable. Now, the hammer price will tell the tale and anything could happen between now and then but I thought the current difference in price was noteworthy.

[literarymadness]

Maybe it is saturation.  That is the seventh Elan for sale on BAT in 2021 and compared to just two TCS Europas before this car in the same amount of time. And the first S2 in a while.