Accusations that the Europa was underpowered were dealt with by the simple expedient of fitting the Lotus twin-cam unit, initially in 105bhp form, but with 126bhp in the Special a year later in 1972. Most of these celebrated Lotus’ Grand Prix success by being painted John Player Special colours. Both of these Europas still used the Renault 16 gearbox (with an improved gear linkage), though the Specials could also be had with a five-speed version from the 17TS. Visually, these twin-cam models differed from the S1/S2 by having cut-down rear ‘buttresses’ to improve visibility.
Information from Octane Magazine.
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