1966 Lotus Cortina MK1 FIA Historic Race Car

With a genuine ‘BA74’ chassis number, the Lotus Cortina started life as a rally car, competing successfully for a number of years before taking on a new role as an Appendix K-compliant racing car - and those familiar with the demands of Appendix K will realise that the work required was not insignificant.

We’ll go into more detail later in the advertisement but in brief it comprised seam-welding and strengthened the bodyshell before it was painted. The car was then rebuilt from the ground up with a vast quantity of new components including a newly rebuilt engine, plus a brand new gearbox, suspension, and braking system.

Most of the glass was replaced with polycarbonate items, the fuel cell was been mounted as low as possible to lower the car’s centre of gravity, and the bolt-in roll-cage, new carbon Sabelt seat (one only) and harness are all FIA-compliant.

Regular watchers might remember us selling this very car around eighteen months ago. Comprehensively updated at vast expense to meet current regulations – it has an FIA Passport valid until the end of 2026 - the owner has since decided to take early retirement, which means a complete change of his plans to go racing.

So, he’s offering it up for sale with a very realistic reserve, significantly below our estimate, and while there are probably cheaper cars out there, there are almost certainly none that are better prepared or more competitive....... 

After all, if you’re buying a race car, you want one that’s capable of winning, don’t you?

The bodyshell was completely stripped before being seam-welded and strengthened to Appendix K specification. It was then professionally prepared and resprayed in white. With the traditional green stripe, obviously.

The boot lid, bonnet and doors are alloy, and the side and rear glass have also been replaced with polycarbonate items to help further reduce the car’s weight. Other weight-saving measures include the driver’s side front window, which incorporates a sliding ventilation panel, while the rear features fixed round ventilation holes.

And while the windscreen is still glass, the factory item has been replaced with one that incorporates a heating element to keep the ‘screen clear in inclement weather because the car’s internal heater has also been removed to save weight.

The bonnet scuttle features two handles: one for an electrical cut-out and one for the onboard OMP fire suppression system.

The underside clearly received almost as much attention as the topside; it’s been painted but not undersealed and is beautifully detailed, including front and rear jacking points on either side.

Thirteen-inch Minilite-style ‘Minator’ alloy wheels are shod with almost new Dunlop racing tyres. The car also comes with a spare set of Minilite-style wheels and tyres.

The overall result is an impressively tidy car; while most racing cars are more about performance than aesthetics, this car is as beautiful as it is effective.

The interior specification and finish is as comprehensive as that on the exterior and the mechanical side. The driver’s seat is a new Sabelt Titan Max Carbon racing seat, which cost £3,000, along with a TRS six-point harness. Both are FIA-compliant and in-date.

The bolt-in roll-cage also meets the requirements laid down by the FIA.

The dashboard is rudimentary, featuring all the instruments and switches you need and nothing that you don’t. The specification includes a lovely Mota-Lita steering wheel, a wonderfully engineered gearlever mechanism housing, and an internal battery cut-off switch.

The OMP fire suppression system has just been recharged too, and a new transponder has been fitted along with a new race battery.

The beautiful boot-mounted alloy fuel cell has been mounted as low as possible to help lower the car’s centre of gravity. This, along with the mounting for the rear-view mirror (go on, take a look for yourself!) are symbolic of the care and attention to detail that has been lavished on the car.

The Lotus twin-cam engine was stripped and rebuilt by marque specialists Ridgeway Racing Engines in November 2016 to the correct specification. In brief, the work comprised a brand new cylinder head (costing more than £4,000 by itself and necessary because the old head had been fitted with over-size, and therefore illegal, valves), custom liners, new pistons, valves, springs camshafts and camshaft timing chain, a £2,000 crankshaft, and new fuel and water pumps.

The twin Weber carburettors were also completely overhauled before being carefully set-up. The exhaust gases vent via a side-exit exhaust system. Peak power is confirmed as 167bhp at the flywheel, or 50% more than it had from the factory. In total, the bill for the engine work alone came to more than £16,000 and the car has only been used for one race since the engine has been refitted.

Other mechanical work to bring it to Appendix K specification included fitting the existing gearbox casing with completely new internals (a £4,000 job all by itself…), a new limited-slip differential, upgraded rolled half-shafts, new front and rear suspension, a completely new braking system, and a lightweight battery. Jewel-like details abound including safety wired throttle cables adjuster nuts, Aeroquip brake and fuel hoses, an exposed, industrial-style gearchange, and an alloy oil catch tank in the engine bay.

More recently, the owner commissioned Northampton Motorsport to fettle a few miscellaneous items to ensure it is running perfectly and compliant with the latest regulations. The work was completed in August 2019 and the final reckoning was around £3,300. Please see the attached invoices for the full details of the work that was carried out.

Eligible for a vast array of historic racing events, the car comes with an MSA Historic Technical Passport dated the 9th of March 2020.

It also has a number of documents and cuttings that detail its previous life as a competitive rally car, at which time it was issued with an Historic Rally Vehicle Identity Form. It also has its original RAC Competition Car Log Book, which is a wonderfully evocative element of its provenance.

It also comes with a number of old invoices, bills and receipts plus a number of expired MOT certificates and other paperwork. There are also some photographs of the car’s restoration and transformation into its current condition.

Please do visit the ‘Records’ section of this listing where you will find a number of documents to support the car’s originality, specification and historical importance.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

NB. We know that many of you will be limiting your social exposure over the coming days and weeks, so if you’d rather not go to see the car in person, please contact the owner and ask if he can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like him to concentrate on.

The Ford Lotus Cortina is still something of an enigma; it has serious competition credentials and yet can still be something of a wild card to price, with values ranging from the mid-twenties for something of a "restoration project" all the way to £100,000+ for the very best race cars.

Which this one is; its specification is to die for and the care and attention to detail in the build is nothing short of stunning. So, given that this is one of the very best examples being offered for sale today, we expect this to go for between £45,000 and £70,000, with its reserve set very realistically.

This is a hefty sum for sure, but worth every penny because it eligible for a huge number of top-flight motorsport events including the CSCC Classic K or The Masters.

Oh, and the vendor has got a new Brian James four-wheel trailer complete with a tyre rack available by separate negotiation, if you’re looking for a complete turn-key race package.

He has also kindly offered to deliver the Lotus Cortina anywhere within 100 miles of London should the winning bidder like him to do so.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the seller at Loughton, in Essex; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Footman James for classic car insurance Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car and AnyVan for transporting it.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive.

This vehicle is not with us at The Market’s HQ near Abingdon, which means we have had to rely on the owner’s description of it, in conjunction with the photographs you see here, to compile the listing.

With this in mind, we would encourage potential bidders to contact the owner themselves and arrange to view the car in person, or to arrange a dedicated video call in which they can view the car virtually and ask questions.

Also, localised paint repairs are common with collectable and classic cars and if they have been professionally carried out then they may be impossible to detect, even if we see the car in person. So, unless we state otherwise, please assume that any vehicle could have had remedial bodywork at some point in its life.

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.

Please note that this is sold as seen and that, as is normal for used goods bought at auction, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. See our FAQs for more info, and feel free to inspect any vehicle as much as you wish.