1975 Lotus Europa Special

Lagoon Blue is a genuine factory Europa colour, and it makes a point worth making at a gathering like this one. Although the Special is remembered in black and gold, Lotus offered it in a range of colours, still with the gold pinstripe, through to the end of production.

This car was first registered in June 1975 and is a very late example – one of the final Europas built. Mechanically it is the fully developed article: Big Valve twin-cam, five speeds and the best-resolved bodywork of the series. It has been restored with close attention to detail and is a car for the purist. Nine years and around 9,230 cars after the Series 1 appeared, Lotus turned to the Esprit and the Europa name went into storage until 2006.

Why it matters

The last of the original Europas, and proof that the Special was never only a black-and-gold car.