How many Ford Cortina’s used to be seen on roads here in the UK all those years ago? They were one of the most popular cars ever built.
A Lotus Cortina being put through its paces
Well, a Lotus Cortina that had been designed by the great Colin Chapman, recently came on the market at a staggering £250,000 – yes, a quarter of a million pounds!
The classic car has an independent rear suspension by Elan and is no doubt in impeccable condition. Originally, the car had been built with the intention of showing just how excellent the Lotus Cortina may have proved to have been. The development costs were closely monitored by Ford as a result Lotus was made to create a lower priced A-frame solution in respect of the suspension at the rear of the car. However, this was later discarded with, due to being so expensive.
The world-renowned racing car driver Jim Clark actually had the pleasure of driving the Lotus Cortina when it came off the production line and it is believed that he was very impressed with it – so much so that he decided to retain it for driving about town when he was not driving at high speed on racetracks.
After that, it has, at some point, been in the hands of Tom Walkinshaw Racing but when the company ceased trading back in 2003, the classic car was auctioned off realising a reasonable £40,230.
Original features include Elan drive shafts that have been modified plus one of Jim Clark’s steering wheels. It is claimed by Roy Kent from The Old Racing Car Company to be a unique car as it was, in effect, a blueprint of the vehicle that Colin Chapman actually wanted constructed.
Apparently, there is a growing interest in these cars with those in excellent condition fetching in the region of £50,000. However, when one with this history comes on the market, the increase in value is astonishing, as evidenced by its £250,000 price tag.
