PLEASE NOTE: This lot may require some recommissioning before returning to the road, having been last on the road c.4 years ago.

Launched in 1966, the Lotus Europa was the first mass produced, mid-engined road car and was based on a prototype built to compete for a Ford contract to build a Le Mans racer in the early 1960s.

Exemplifying Colin Chapman's design philosophy of "simplify, then add lightness," it used a minimalist steel backbone chassis while also relying on a low-drag fibreglass body for structural strength.

The four-wheel independent suspension was typical of Chapman's thinking, the rear suspension consisting of two relatively large trailing arms, one lower locating link per side, the axles being used as upper locating links, very similar to Formula racing car designs of that era.

The resultant astonishing roadholding prompted road testers to describe the Europa as the nearest thing to a racing car for the road.

The first Series I cars were fitted with a modified Renau...