Once upon a time in a land far far way, when I was about 13 years old, I went with my father to record the sounds of the "Players 200" race at Mosport in 1962, won by Masten Gregory in a Lotus 19. I was captivated by the Lotus, Cooper, Jaguar, Lister, Maserati, Zerex Special and others. I can still remember Jim Hall pushing his car onto his trailer as the sun set. I became addicted to racing. Especially Lotus Formula One.
December 1966, I picked up copies of the British "Motor" and "Autocar" magazines. Inside was the introduction of the Lotus Europa 46, I decided then and there I wanted one but by the time it arrived in Canada, the price had climbed to around $4000.00, which I could not afford.
1978, I came across a '70 Europa S2 (54-0995). I drove the car for a week or two until I noticed the gas tank was leaking, and that began its restoration process. A year later I backed it out of my garage and began driving it again for a month or two.
One day, in the rain at an intersection, I turned left on a yellow and a Chevrolet Impala from the other side came across and in slow motion removed the front of the Europa. He didn't stop. I didn't get his license number. I was still inside the car, struggling to keep the windshield wiper away from my face.
The Police passed by on their way to lunch or a bank robbery and asked if I was Okay. I replied yes, they left. A tow truck waved at me as he drove by with some other lucky contestant hooked up. He returned in ten minutes and yanked the Europa up as if pulling out a wisdom tooth. The car made more unholy noises as he accelerated away.
Later the Europa was again towed by the same truck, on the highway at 80mph to my garage. It sat there for a couple of months until after numerous calls to England, I decided it was going to cost more to properly repair it than it was worth. I sold the remains back to one of the previous owners, who rebuilt it much to my amazement.
22 years later, the search is on, looking for a Series 1.
Why "Europa24fps"
?
"Europa"
is explained above.
"24fps"
is 24 frames per second. I'm in the film business since 1968.
Well, I found one...