Lotus Europa price tracker
Every week, we’re tracking the values of the most popular classic cars on the UK market. Thanks to our friends at Classic Car Weekly, we can focus on one car and compare its values from 2005 to today – and then anticipate where they will be in 2025. This week, we take a look at the Lotus Europa S2 – the much-improved version of Hethel’s first mid-engined road car. Classic Car Weekly’s editor David Simister tells the market story.
LOTUS EUROPA S2 – THE CURRENT SITUATION
If the idea of owning a pioneering mid-engined sports car from the company that brought you the phrase ‘for extra speed, just add lightness,’ then here’s a top tip – the Europa S2 is still one of the cheapest ways into one of its classics. Considering its position in sports car history, its agility and sheer dynamic brilliance, the Lotus Europa really is hard to beat, and in typical Lotus fashion, the later S2 model is a huge improvement over the original.
It’s considerably cheaper to buy than an Elan of the same era, and way behind the 1970s poster child Esprit, but even so prices have been steadily heading upwards as we get wider recognition of its abilities. The Europa is a car that would have been easily available for £6000-£8000 back in 2005 is likely going to be around double that today, and it’s worth bearing in mind that we’ve seen dealers advertising mint examples for considerably more.
Lotus Europa price tracker
LOTUS EUROPA VALUES – SLOW, STEADY NOW IMPRESSIVE
The Europa was for many years overlooked in favour of the more beautiful Elan and dramatic Esprit. This is still very much the case, and as a consequence, values haven’t experienced the stellar rises we’ve seen elsewhere. That’s not quite so much the case these days – but even if our tracker (below) comes true, then a nice Elan will still be a cheap classic for its ability and provenance.
LOTUS EUROPA PRICE TRACKER
We’ve said before that we think the Europa is one of the best value sports cars of the lot, with world class handling, but those love-‘em-or-loathe-‘em looks still divide enthusiasts and hold back values. That said, we reckon that there’s still sufficient appetite for them to push prices up a little further still; just don’t expect any spectacular changes at the moment.
Below are the typical prices for a Condition 2 example between 2005-2025.
2005 £6500
2010 £7500
2015 £12,000
2020 £14,000
2025 £16,000 (anticipated)
Lotus Europa price tracker
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