58698 Lotus Europa Special

[Dakratfink 967]

Now do I pre order the kit of hope they release just the body set ? 

[Dakratfink 967]

1 minute ago, Busdriver said:

Bet you’ve never driven one. You would be smiling from ear to ear. Real seat of the pants driving. No aides at all

That’s exactly how my 1:10 m06 handles . So it’s a good chassis choice then 

[Superluminal 3750]

Im hoping they dont mess around with the proportions of the front too much - the Europa bonnet should sit quite a bit lower than the tops of the wheel arches. On my M06 Alpine i found you couldnt get the body that low because of the tops of the front shock tower clashed and the other m06 bodies such as the Alfa have a higher front end. I hope they dont introduce a bulged bonnet lid for this - it might fit better over an m02 with the inline low level damper.

Im hoping that if they have a renewed Lotus licence we might see some others coming along. An Esprit might be a more popular choice what with the Bond connections (and wouldnt mind the f104w Lotus 79 too as missed out on that before)

[moffman 5752]

On 8/6/2021 at 12:39 PM, TWINSET said:

Just announced by Mokei Kagaku on FB

M06 Chassis (RWD)

 

1/24 Kit boxart

When I was very young (so a long time ago but not Jurassic) a young guy in our street had one probably the equivalent of a yuppie of the 70s it was black with gold pinstripes and to stop us riding past his front door on our bikes he would park it on the path! He was horrible and I'm putting it politely because of the forum but you get where I'm coming from? My dad use to say "he doesn't want to be doing that its going to get damaged if someone takes offence to it or doesn't see it!!" And he was right!!..........the Thursday morning bin lorry hooked it up and dragged it half a mile down the street! Nobody laughed🤣🤣🤣 it must of been written off because he turned up in a yellow triumph TR7.....never mind!

[Superluminal 3750]

9 minutes ago, moffman said:

it was black with gold pinstripes

That might have been one of the factory JPS editions....he made a bad choice parking it there that day.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lotus-Europa-JPS-5-Speed-Special-1972-November-No-18-of-100-/274880608941?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

[Grumpy pants 4465]

19 hours ago, Superluminal said:

I’m struggling to see anything but stunning @berman & @Fabia130vRS 😳

[moffman 5752]

10 minutes ago, Superluminal said:

That might have been one of the factory JPS editions....he made a bad choice parking it there that day.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lotus-Europa-JPS-5-Speed-Special-1972-November-No-18-of-100-/274880608941?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l6249&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

Yep that was it if I remember it was quite a small very low car can't remember it having the chrome on the bottom but I maybe wrong? our family car was a white Ford Granada 2.0GL with black vinyl roof and a towbar on the back 

[Busdriver 6209]

Just now, Grumpy pants said:

I’m struggling to see anything but stunning @berman & @Fabia130vRS 😳

And this one is the Renault engined S2 I believe. The Twin cam/ special has the cut down rear panels which to my mind makes it even more beautiful. 

[Busdriver 6209]

3 minutes ago, moffman said:

Yep that was it if I remember it was quite a small very low car can't remember it having the chrome on the bottom but I maybe wrong? our family car was a white Ford Granada 2.0GL with black vinyl roof and a towbar on the back 

Yes they had a chrome valance under the doors.

[Juggular 4964]

4 hours ago, Grumpy pants said:

I’m struggling to see anything but stunning @berman & @Fabia130vRS 😳

I think it's a good looking car.  But I admit it does have an odd angle too.  It all depends on which side clicks with you. For some people smiling face is memorable, for others, it's the frowny face that sticks with them.  It's just many sides of any particular car.  

That's why people pay a lot of money to photographers to capture the most attractive side. Sometimes you still get a doofus bombing your photo, though. (I was cracking up, but my wife said, "oh, her dress!" Case on point; this photo is a 'disaster' to my wife, just 'funny' to me. Two sides of the same photo.) 

For RC, I thought Bigwig was the ugliest thing. But it really grew on me. Same person can see two different sides over time too.   

 

[Raman36 1655]

20 hours ago, berman said:

Oh it is the perfect body for an M08, and I am glad Tamiya are still doing classics and not just contemporaries.

But it's butt (excuse the pun) ugly. It's like it was Friday afternoon at Lotus and they only got to the B pillar, but it had to be done by Monday morning, and they were hitting the pub at 4pm.

That body could have had a nice round 2dr couple rear.

When they said Europa, I was quitely hoping it was the 2006+ Europa S (i.e, Elise).

Will probably still get it, I don't have to like it though 😄

Admittedly it’s not one of my favourite vintage cars.. albeit I’d rather have 10 more of this lot than the modern FWD Japanese grocery shopping hatchbacks Tamiya has released on M chassis.. No more Swift, Yaris, Mazda 3s please 

[Bash 356]

I like that they did something a bit different- hardly ever see any Lotus cars besides F1 and while I'm not much of a fan of Lotus, I've always liked the look of the Europa. If they do an Esprit V8 I'd be tempted to get one as one of dads in my scout troop had one and we all thought it was the greatest thing ever. If we can get a Skoda 130RS on one of these, I'd order it immediately  

[Blista 1519]

Not really a car I have any interest in but it's going to be hard for them to top the Escort Mk2 for me anyway.

I really want to see some 80's Japanese cars.  There's so many great cars from that era.

[berman 5315]

@Superluminal An Esprit would be nice. I feel Lotus make much nicer cars than the Europa.

10 hours ago, Grumpy pants said:

I’m struggling to see anything but stunning @berman & @Fabia130vRS 😳

I'm glad it doesn't bother other people, what a boring world we would live in if we all felt the same. Admittedly, that is the nicest one posted so far. It looks better with the rear quarters matching the roof line, and the wheels are better looking and have a 70s vintage vibe.

3 hours ago, Raman36 said:

Admittedly it’s not one of my favourite vintage cars.. albeit I’d rather have 10 more of this lot than the modern FWD Japanese grocery shopping hatchbacks Tamiya has released on M chassis.. No more Swift, Yaris, Mazda 3s please 

A Yaris GR is 4wd. But yes, the three you mentioned are not exactly enticing. I think this is the reason why the Swift body set I bought is half price, who exactly is the Swift aimed at? Maybe the Japanese, and Tamiya will do what they want. Not to mention, most car manufacturers want their latest made by toy manufacturers to help drum up interest in the 1:1 product.

One of the things I love about M-chassis, is the vast range of bodies Tamiya makes to adorn them. You don't find this kind of abstract diversity in their TC/257mm range. 

I too prefer older, nostalgic, vintage bodies. I could care less if they bring out rwd, fwd, or 4wd models, but would prefer the correct driveline to adorn each model.

There is other bodies in the m-chassis range I am not particularly fond of, like the NSU and the S15 Silvia (looks odd on a 210mm chassis) but I am still probably going to get them, along with the other 'FWD shopping cart bodies' (Yaris and Mazda2).

Also after the Fiat ABarth Berlina Corsa, Honda S800, S13 Silvia, Honda SMX, VW Type2 etc etc

And as I said earlier, will probably buy this Europa too, even if I don't like it 😉

[Re-Bugged 10110]

It could have been worse @Fabia130vRS…

[Fabia130vRS 2098]

Deep in my heart I am wishing for this car, to be released by Tamiya. 
 

 

 

[GreatDane 70]

6 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

It could have been worse @Fabia130vRS…

If Tamiya was to release the Austin Allegro for the M-chassis, I would buy it instantly. I think it could be fun.

[GreatDane 70]

3 hours ago, Fabia130vRS said:

Deep in my heart I am wishing for this car, to be released by Tamiya. 
 

 

 

With the Tamiya and Lotus history in mind, why not. A Lotus Cortina would be paramount. Can't wait to the see the Lotus Europe on a the M-chassis with the body being very low indeed.

[KEV THE REV 2310]

8 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

It could have been worse @Fabia130vRS…

I saw the 'wheeler dealers' green Allegro on show in town one time -  a restored shed

[Re-Bugged 10110]

8 minutes ago, KEV THE REV said:

I saw the 'wheeler dealers' green Allegro on show in town one time -  a restored shed

Something to keep your compost at least 😉

I’ll never forget the lasting impression that one of these left on me, owned by a fellow apprentice. Another mate had a Morris, that was equally as impressive too. Anything over 60mph (if you managed to) and your underwear matched the luxury brown seats. 

[KEV THE REV 2310]

I remember seeing a show which featured old cars and they showed one on a pile of scrap cars in a breakers yard and it was so rotten that the whole front with engine etc had detached at the A pillars and fallen off away from the main car !!

[KEV THE REV 2310]

The Lotus Europa used to feature in a lot of TV and Film stuff b.i.t.d . The Avengers' Tara King used to drive one

[Juggular 4964]

4 hours ago, KEV THE REV said:

The Lotus Europa used to feature in a lot of TV and Film stuff b.i.t.d . The Avengers' Tara King used to drive one

Ooh, hers has the deck wall come up higher.  I like it a little less, especially from this angle.  

Not Lotus, but another European car I've been wishing for is Volvo P1800.  If Tamiya gives me P1800, I wouldn't mind if they pair it with M05 or M06 chassis. (They already have very similar wheels)  But that's for the future.  For now, I'm very glad to see Lotus Europa Special.  

Maybe even a 400 hp, P1800 Cyan version?  A bit too Mustangy for me though. 

 

[TWINSET 1793]

12 minutes ago, Juggular said:

I like it a little less, especially from this angle.  

 

Side on, neither of them are especially attractive

 

[Juggular 4964]

2 minutes ago, TWINSET said:

Side on, neither of them are especially attractive

lol... come on, Twinset!  I'm psyched about it.  Don't dash a boy's dream, please!