1993 or 74 Europa thinking

[ZetecEuropa]

Originally Posted by XHILR8N!

Way cool! I was on that floor last Summer. It's currently used for paint and body finish.

I hope they got better at paint since they painted mine 40 years ago. ; )

[eliseelise]

The wire wheel Europa doesn't have a dash badge, therefore it may not be a JPS. Is that correct. How is one to make certain?

[ZetecEuropa]

Originally Posted by eliseelise

The wire wheel Europa doesn't have a dash badge, therefore it may not be a JPS. Is that correct. How is one to make certain?

There's probably no way to prove it. Is it a 5 speed? If no, then it's probably not a JPS.

If it doesn't come with the JPS badge, the Jacket, sticker, keychain and other dealer goodies, then it's no longer a "JPS" if it ever was one. Those are the only things you can use to document to the next buyer or the community that it's a true JPS.

Here's a question for you. If you had a Europa and the only thing that made it "special" or more valuable than other Europas was a dash badge, wouldn't you keep that dash badge in a safe place when you replaced the dash? And wouldn't you put that badge back on the dash after it was back in the car?

[eliseelise]

you have a point.

[XHILR8N!]

Lotus Europa JPS Information

[Julian73]

“About the JPS "upgrade" packages for already-built black Europa Specials on dealers lots … : No such thing, never heard of an "upgrade package". All JPS cars were built at the factory (ALL of them black with gold carriage stripes) and ORDERED from the factory, no retrofitting by Lotus or the dealers. “

That’s like counterfeiting money on government paper stock, its “real” just not from the “factory”

[Lotus23S10]

If you're really interested in the car at Wire Wheel, get the VIN -- Hayes Harris and Wire Wheel have a good reputation and I'm sure would not knowingly misrepresent a car -- ask him for history of the car.

To the best of my knowledge, all Europa Specials had gold pinstripes, metalflake silver sill panels, and minor mechanical differences(rear brakes for one) from Twin Cams; I believe factory alloys were an option as was the 5-speed -- I owned a red Special with a 4-speed(that I later converted to 5sp) - it was badged as a Special and had the gold stripes and silver sills.


An excerpt from correspondence with Andy Graham, Archivist for Lotus is below – if you give them a VIN number and a few $, Lotus will provide you with a “Certificate of Provenance” that will detail the build details of a particular car, but according to Andy JPS numbers were NOT fitted on the assembly line:

====================
Unfortunately I cannot confirm if the edition number … is correct, I am sure there were a lot more black cars before this car, but then these badges were not line fitted (as far as I am aware), so a customer could specify a specific number. Unfortunately very little has been retained regarding the Europa Special “JPS” and what identifies a “JPS” from a regular black Special, so we can only guess.
Regards.
Andy Graham – Technical Publications and Archives
LOTUS AFTERSALES, Units 6 & 7 John Hyrne Way, Longwater Business Park, Costessey, Norwich, Norfolk NR5 0AF England.
T +44 (0)1603 732178 agraham@lotuscars.com


====================(sorry if I screwed-up the above -- looks like my "italic" didn't take)

As far as the info on Lotus Europa Central, perhaps this American dealer was not aware of all the Lotus “positioning” done to sell cars – I doubt if anyone will ever know the whole story….

In any case, I have not seen any great value differential for "JPS" numbered cars vs other Specials and properly restored cars or original well-maintained "survivors" generally bring a premium price -- even 4-speeds.

[eliseelise]

I found a JPS I am interested in. Well sorted out mechanical. Body is a 10 footer. Interior is OK, not great but OK. Prices are all over the place.

[Lotus23S10]

Hey EliseElise--

How about bringing us up to date on Europa prices? ....as you've just researched and inquired on a few, what are they selling for? I'm sure all readers would be interested.

Thanks.