'One that got away'. When I bought my first Lotus (a 1972 Europa Twincam, in 1980), it needed quite a lot of work. As part of the price I paid, the dealer:
1.) Changed out all 4 steel wheels with hubcaps, for 4 x Brand Lotus alloy wheels.
2.) Removed the #%&@$ add-on 'air conditioner' and the remote mechanical oil level indicator. The AC compressor and blower took up 100% of the front trunk, and the remaining AC components covered the engine in back, making the dipstick was unreachable. The oil level indicator was installed right next to the ignition switch. You were supposed to push the 2" cylinder in, and it was supposed to push back out, showing via a green-and-red graphic, if you were short on oil. This Rube Goldberg device was jammed into a very tight space, against the ignition, and was wildly unreliable. Oh -- and the AC was worthless as anything other than a ventilation fan.
3.) Put new rings in the Twincam engine. The Lotus mechanic said it was common back then, even though my car had only 20,000 miles.
All told, I got a lot of work done for what I paid. The cherry on top was, they needed about 30 days to do the work on the Europa, so they gave me a 1976 Jensen Healey GT shooting brake. I'm not a fan of the Jensen Healey roadster's looks, but I LOVED the GT. It was BRG, with a black leather interior. By girlfriend at the time fell in love with it. She asked the dealer what they wanted for it. The answer was $10,000. GULP! I remember talking to her, and neither of us, in 1980, could conceive of being able to afford a $10,000 car! Less than a year later, that car was totaled. The only things salvageable were the two black leather seats!
--Bob Collum
Interesting! The current Alpine A110 is a French sports car, with some significant chassis work done by ex-Lotus employees, then working at Caterham. Caterham ran short of funds, and had to drop out of the project. There is still an early prototype of the joint venture vehicle on display at Caterham HQ in England. The major complaint of the A110 is that it does not offer a manual transmission. Should Lotus and Alpine come up with something, I'd hope it is available with a manual transmission, and be sold in the U.S.
One possible factor in the Lotus-Alpine link-up: France has introduced some stiff tax penalties on vehicles, based on emissions. (As in, nearly $2300 in tax on a new A110 in France. If you bought a V8 Mustang in France today, that CO2 tax would be around $35,000!) In addition, as of 2022, France will be levying a surcharge on any new vehicle that weighs over 3960 lbs. This plays to Lotus' strength!
--Bob Collum
