Hi all! I am excited to have found this community! I found the yahoo group and joined over there as well but the entire format seemed quite confusing so now I'm posting here! Haha.
I am in college studying mechanical engineering in New York and Lotus is my favorite make. And the Europa is my favorite model. It was the Exige for a while but ultimately became the Europa because it has a longitudinal engine (mass more centrally located), is lower, and has more character. Oh yeah, and it's even lighter than the Exige! :O And possibly cheaper. $45k for an Exige? Sheesh.
Currently I own an 01 Toyota Celica GTS and it has been my trusty daily driver ever since I was 16. I won't buy any sort of performance car until I have some sort of garage to put it in so I am more planning for the long term here. My plan is to build/buy a Europa S2, and put a Duratec engine mated to a VW type 1 transaxle with an adapter. If my research is correct, this is possible just as long as the transaxle can handle the torque of the Duratec.
This sort of car leads to two questions that I will now pass on to you guys haha:
1. How much horsepower should the Duratec be built to? I believe that there is an ideal amount of horsepower (depending on weight) that allows you to be somewhat competitive with modern cars on track days as well as not letting the car become an exercise in restraint. I'm used to 2500lbs/180hp or about 14 lbs per hp and I think that it's pretty quick. Certainly not fast, but it can be fun to toss around.
2. Should I have one built from Banks in the UK or source a Europa in the US and build it up from there? I would want to swap the rear brakes, probably replace suspension bits, get a new frame, completely different engine and transmission, redo the electronics, and probably paint the entire car. Isn't that almost the same thing as buying a new Europa if I'm swapping/fixing everything anyway? And for the life of me I can't find one documented customer who has actually bought a car from Richard Winter. I have no idea what the price is or how it would be imported/registered in the US. If anyone could point me in the direction of a documented purchase and experiences that their new car gave them please let me know! My favorite of Richard's is the type 47 model.
Thanks everyone!