Bigcalm

Hi ya I've had my Europa 4 months and in that time used it for a little commuting, lots of Sunday cruising, a track day and 3 decent weekend trips. With my partner it easily takes all our gear and was comfortable when we were putting 500-600 kms on it each day. Comfort-wise it's fine - my last car was a 997 C2s, which was a lot more refined, but signifcantly less involving from a drivers point of view. If you really like a plush ride then you might want to think about something else - to me the Europa is a nice balance of comfort, rarity and a great driving experience. Plus now they look like a great deal $ wise. Steve

Okay I'd def be keen to see how you get on. There's a guy in Aussie selling a custom made exhaust, but I'm not sure how it compares performance and sound-wise with the Milltek & Tullet versions. Looking forward to hearing what you think of your one - might also be an option for me if it lives up to your expectations Cheers

Hey Junks What are you geting fitted? I'm about to do the same to mine so keen to see what youre trying and how you get on Cheers

Okay, thanks for all the tips, keep em coming I'm looking for more power and a harder edge to the car, and a little more noise would be good too. I emailed Chrtis Tullet and he said he's never done an exhaust for the Lotus - he does VX220's and he "thinks it might fit but wouldn't sell me one until he knew for sure" Excuse my ignorance but whats the www for Hoffmans - I'll contact Randy and see what he's says regarding exhaust and ECU Thorney's website talks about a 3 stage option for ECU and exhaust here http://www.thorneymo...pa-tuning.shtml, the stage 2 option looks interesting to me. I'm keen to hear of anyone who done stuff like this to their Europa's All advice gratefuly received!!!! Cheers Steve

Hi Having spent the last couple of months getting to know my Europa, I'm now starting to modify her. I've read on this forum and at Pistonheads that the best options to transform the cars are the ECU upgrade, Brake pads and Milltek exhaust, so my questionsare for anyone that's played with their Europa... 1. Which is the best ECU upgrade - I understand that Thorney's and Hoffmans both do an updae ECU, which is best? (my car is an original S with 197hp ECU) 2. There is some talk of blown O2 sensors with the Milltek exhaust - is this common? Anything else I need to look out for with the exhaust? 3. I'm looking at Mintex 1144 pads to ugrade the brakes - is the best option (the car will mainly road with a little track) Cheers Steve

Agree totally It's pretty common bsiness practice to look at the margin / return equation. Another element for consideration is resourcing - they may have more people focussed on more profitable projects and don't want the distraction of something that can achieve a profit but not at the rate / margin of others. Doesn't mean I agree with dropping it from the line up, but a perfectly understandable business tactic

Hey Hamburger Mine has had some work some to the ECU, apparently giving out another 25BHP, and it has a switch to bring it back to standard HP. I don't understand it but they've "piggybacked" something on to the ECU to release more HP's? The difference is quite noticeable. Anyways, I'm thinking the first mods I want to do is the Milltek and some better brake pads. You reckon the Milltek is the way to gain more HP? I assume you fitted a full Milltek, not a half system? Are you happy with the sound of the Milltek? Cheers

Sad to see it go, but not really surprised. I've had mine one month now, and absolutely love. I got it at a great price, the dealer just wanted to move it, so maybe I bought it at the right time? I've had a magic couple of runs with it already - for any Kiwi's out there, I played on the Parapara's and Western route round Lake Taupo last weekend and couldn't believe the handling - point to point it's really quick It'll keep me smiling for a while. Cheers Steve

Hi everyone After scouring the market and testing a few cars (Elises, Exiges and Europa's) I finally picked up an 07 Europa. I'm wrapped with the car, after my last car, a 997 Carrera I love the simplicity of the cabin and the "connectedness" of driver/car/road - just awesome. The Europa's only done 8000 kms and had the chip upgraded, just need to look at the exhaust. I picked it up in Christchurch and had a 500km drive on fantatstic B roads to get her home and what a drive, loved every minute. Here are a couple of pics, it looks really striking in artic white, especially in the flesh. Cheers Steve

Thanks Guys Are any of the Elise/Exige parts from the interior transferrable to a Europa? Cheers Steve

Hi all I'm now in a position to test a few cars and am really keen on either a Europa or Exige, with my pref probably sitting with a Europa simply because from what I've read they probabaly offer the best all round performance - I'm only going to do 4-6 track days per year, and want the car as a second car for weekend blasting / a bit of touring. There are three '06 S models for sale out here - an artic white one with black stripes which has an ECU upgrade and looks stunning in the flesh (6000kms), a standard black one with only 175kms on the clock and looks good (turns out it's never been sold and has been in storage for 3 years!), and a light blue model with ECU, exhaust, 16inch rims and brake upgrade (but I'm not so fussed on the colour). I'm taking a little time off work to test a few cars in a week or so. My preference at this stage is the artic white one, but I'll also be driving a couple of Exiges to compare. I'm told by a couple of the Europa owners their upgrades make them as fast as an Exige. My questions are - If I upgrade the exhaust to a Miltek do I need the "full" exhaust or will the "half kit" also give an hp increase and better sound? - I assume I can bolt on a miltek even of the ECU has been upgraded already. ie the Miltak won't cause the ECU any problems? - All three cars have the black/tan interior which is okay, but what could I do to upgrade the interior- it's looks a bit "low rent" - new probax seats? Anything else - can you buy upgrade items for the interior from Lotus? Cheers Steve

Your Europa looks awesome in black! I've since driven a couple of Elises and a Porsche 911 2.7 RS replica, and while they were fun they didn't give me the buzz the Europa did when I last drove one. So I'm off next week to drive a Europa again and see if that buzz is still there. I've also got the chance to back to back it with an Exige so that will also be intersting. Cheers Steve

Thanks for the advice guys, gives me something to think about The importation laws are relatively straight forward, with a ton of cars imported second had from Japan. I've looked at the option of bringing one in from Aussie, but there prices are astronimcal and it just doesn't stack up. I must admit the idea of the Europa appeals, a combination of power output, comfort (I know I can fit comfortably) and rarity - anything I purchase I would like to hold for a while so resale is not so much of a concern. It's interesting reading the reviews which are not so kind to it, and yet on this forum all the Europa owners seem pretty happy with theirs - might be a case of poor marketing by Lotus? Does anyone know if Lotus have stopped production of the model?

I'd love an Exige, but have'nt seen one for sale in NZ

Hi Everyone I'm new to the forum and busy researching before I buy. I've recently tested an 07 Europa and a couple of Elises. I like them all and really unsure at this stage which way to go. I see there's a lot of great info/buyers guides here which is helping, but I have a couple of general questions... 1. I'm 6'3" and fit fine into a Europa. But both the Elises I drove had tops off so I'm not sure if I would fit in an Elise with a hard top (if I go with an Elise I have a pref for a hard top). Anyone know the answer? 2. I've driven the 111s and a std Elise - Is the performance of the R significantly more than these two in the real world? I'm looking for a great handling car and something I can make a real connection with, not necessarily heaps of power (I've just sold my 997 Carrera because it was to sanitised and you could'nt use all the power on the road) 3. Lastly, I see there are many different views on the Europa. Out here in NZ there a very few of them from what I can tell, and they seem very difficult to sell - one has been on the market well over a year, another for several months. So, will the Elise give the real world performance of a Eurpoa with a little less comfort but be easier to sell? Cheers Steve