If there’s ever been a car that could transform you into a fan of track days and autocross events overnight, I don’t know of a better option than a Lotus Super Seven or Caterham kit. These cars were the epitome of Colin Chapman’s design philosophy, and even with a modest powerplant under the hood, could run laps around far more powerful competitors. This example located in Maryland is of the Dutton variety, which is believed to have been one of the largest manufacturers of kits cars in the world at one point. The car is listed here on eBay as a major project, with an opening bid of $1K and no action yet.

The seller refers to it as a Super 7, of which there are some other isolated references to online, but I suspect the proper name is a Dutton P1, as that’s the model most commonly referred to as a Lotus 7 look-a-like. The Lotus clone was one of the company’s earliest production kits, and utilized Sprite/Midget running gear, typically. Of course, many of these kits also relied on offerings from Ford’s European product line, which tend to extract even more speed out of the lightweight tube frame. This example is being sold with no drivetrain included.

In fact, you’re not getting much of anything with this carcass. The seller notes there is no top, no interior, and that the front windscreen is cracked. It is a right-hand drive model and the seller mentions in another listing for the car on the Classic Vehicle List website that it has had a “hard life” and that it comes with a title from Florida, where it was likely imported through many years ago. Th comment about a hard existence didn’t make its way into the eBay listing, but it should be pretty obvious from the photos it hasn’t been cherished.

The listing asks for a $1,000 opening bid, but even them, the reserve won’t be met. These are certainly rare cars at this juncture, with the only other model featured on Barn Finds appearing in 2014.

The market for genuine Lotus 7s and replicas has always been fairly hot, as they make for outstanding track cars with giant-killing performance on a reasonable budget. A slightly obscure kit like this is certainly less desirable, but it will still be heaps of fun at local autocross events when restored.