The Lotus Cortina Mk 1 was a co-operative development between Ford and Colin Chapman’s Lotus Cars. The car was originally developed for homologation for Group 2 Saloon Car Racing, and over its life-time it underwent a number of mechanical and styling changes. This Lotus Cortina is listed for sale here on eBay. It is located in Jacksonville, Florida and comes with a clear title. The price has been set with a BIN of an eye-watering $74,995, but there is the option to make an offer.
Maybe I’m being overly fussy or critical, but if I’m looking at paying $75,000 for a car like this, the last thing that I expect to find is rust. To me this is a bit disappointing, but it’s not the end of the world. This also indicates that this car was purchased as a “standard” Mk 1 Lotus. When initially released in 1963, all Lotus Cortinas were fitted with alloy doors, hood and trunk lid. From 1964 these panels were replaced by the standard steel items, although the alloy panels could still be specified by buyers when ordering their car. Therefore any rust in “bolt on” body panels indicates that they aren’t alloy. Apart from that small indiscretion the remainder of the body appears to be in great condition, and the comprehensive photos of the underside of the car indicate a car that is free of rust or corrosion.
This is the essence of what this car was all about. When the Cortina was first released in 1962 the standard engine was the 1,200cc engine featuring a single camshaft. The engine in this car was the updated 1,557cc Kent engine fitted with a twin-can cylinder head developed by Lotus Cars with assistance from Keith Duckworth of Cosworth Engineering. This saw power increased from 46hp in the base Cortina to 105hp in the Lotus Cortina. The power then fed to a 4-speed manual transmission. There is no word on which version of the transmission is fitted to our feature car, as there was a transmission with standard gear ratios and a close-ratio transmission available. I’ve had the good fortune to drive one of these fitted with the close-ratio transmission. On the open road it is a lovely experience, but in stop/start traffic it is murderously uncomfortable to drive as first gear is so high that the car is hard to get moving without doing horrible things to the clutch.
In this shot the interior looks quite good, with everything in the sort of condition that you would expect from a collectable car of this caliber. The only flaws that I could really find were the lens for the interior light is discolored along with the plastic on the air vents. Otherwise the dash, instruments, wheel, console and other interior trim looks really good.
However, I then found this switch panel and wiring under the dash. Once again I really expect to not find items like this on a $75,000 car. I don’t know what these switches and wires are for, but they certainly aren’t standard fare in a Lotus Cortina. I probably wouldn’t object so much to them being there if they weren’t so horrendously untidy.
So this Lotus Cortina Mk 1 is not perfect, but what flaws it has are not going to be particularly difficult or expensive to fix. To me though they simply shouldn’t be present in a car of this price. Is it worth the asking price? Absolutely. There were 3,306 Mk 1 Cortinas built for world-wide distribution, and the left-hand drive cars are among the rarest, so this is a car that will become even more desirable and valuable over time. Do I want it? Oh you’d better believe it!
Cars like this make me hate my poverty.
Join the club!
The switch under the dash is for the USA 4 way flashers.Just remember this is a survivor grade car not a restored one.
If this car is worth this price with some rust, what would Jay Leno’s mechanics car be worth after the complete nut and bolt restoration?
Peronally I could give A RATS *ss about jay leno and his mechanic and his collection, He is a rich guy with rich friends like Tim allen, No end to the money and having to worry about it.
Poverty sucks.
I feel better now..will cut back on the Caffeine.
What did that have to do with what I asked?
It sounds like your having trouble with rich people is a personal problem.
Cortina’s are neat cars, even though, those tail lights always remind me of the “War of the World’s” alien’s eyeball. Creeps me out,,,
My old man had a newer one ( Mk.ll ?) It had the misfortune of being totaled twice. My dad got it, stuffed in the passenger door( fared remarkably well, I might add) after he got it fixed, a hooligan in his dad’s Buick totaled out 4 cars while parked at school, and the Cortina was one of them.Certainly was no Lotus, but the 1600 Kent motor ran great, especially when pulling a hay wagon,,,( kidding Ross) and was a dependable little car.
$75,000!!!! Dream on. Insane!
No bids so far. And I’m the 16 days left I doubt there will be any. But hey, I wonder if he would accept $7400.00?
Impossible to not picture this car in the middle of a pack somewhere on an old airfield in the UK.
The asking price, £58,000, is a bit steep considering that Hagerty valuation is £67,600 for a car in Concours condition. At $1.29 per £1 that equates to $87,204. If in Excellent condition it is £46,000 or $59,000.
I had a customer tow one into my shop in late June years ago, arrived a day later to write up a repair order. It had been sitting for 12 years and just needed a water pump, and the new pump was in the trunk. The new pump was what ‘Kent’ engine would use, not applicable to the Lotus twin-cam cylinder head. He wanted the car back by the 4th of July.
Well that didn’t happen, but I did have it running quite well by the end of September, the fuel and brake systems having been gone through. It was a close-ratio box, one I enjoy. This car was purchased new in the Madison area, from a local Ford dealer. It was told to me that the original owner went in the dealer show room looking for a car for his family, had a Ford wagon in mind. But saw this ‘different version’, eye’d it over, liked it, and the salesman claimed it got much better MPG’s, … that was the reason he chose it.
That’s a great story. Growing in San Francisco I would see a mint Locort at Mr Winklemans shop in Sausalito while getting my parts for my fathers. Finally got to meet the owner when we got a tip that he was going to sell it. He told me that he went into S&C Motors in SF to buy a GT 350 but they did not have one. The salesman convinced him to take the Locort out for s test drive and he was sold! Unfortunately someone else beat us to the purchase.
I had a cousin to this car back in 1968 – a ’63 GT Cortina. The only things that could pass me on the road back then in ‘normal’ car range was the Lotus Cortina or the Cortina Mk 2 ‘Savage’ – with a 3 litre v6 engine. Getting married in ’68 and had to sell it for £245 to a scrap yard – best offer I had – they were stripping Mini Coopers and GT Cortinas for rallying use.
I have never ever heard of a Savage Cortina.
Interesting.
Were these a Ford production in both UK and USA ??
Did it have the Granada V6 in it qhich is what came out in a Vehicle called a Mk4 Ford Zephyr or Zodiac here in New Zealand.
In the 80’s the V6 Granada motor were popular in Hot Rods of small cars like the Ford Popular & Anglia.
Thanks for the great Chats & Reads on the Forums of these Barn Finds Fellas.
THANK YOU from NZ
Pocket Rocket for sure! See two of these little monsters battle an Alfa GTV at Goodwood. Fantastic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNv4GCrCU10&t=0s&list=PLc1oKw1H5RYToDcci91pO110jL6I9WDMN&index=2
@Sebastian X19.. I watched your suggested Goodwood youtube video. Fantastic dice. I will be there this coming Sunday, hopefully for more of the same.
@James P Bandy. I don’t remember ever reading that they had a Renault 5 speed gearbox, but I could also be wrong. And that green stripe was one very weird colour green.
If it didn’t have some iffy wiring under the dash it wouldn’t be a 60’s cortina ! Lol
et al,
Neat, neat and “FAST”….strange as it may seem….the “green” strip is Citroen (Before red) color….also…maybe wrong, but tranmission was Renault five speed……?? Wrong??
jpb
I think you might be confusing the Renault gearbox as being the one fitted to the Lotus Europa. The Cortina Lotus had a Ford ‘box as I recall
Wasn’t this car on Gas Monkey Garage a few years ago?? I forgot how much he gave for it then.
@Bubba5. Gas Monkey advertised it for $115,000 but I don’t know if they managed to sell it at that price. He paid $65k for it so if it sold for anywhere near $115k then he made a really good profit for fixing a few small dents and giving it a major service.
Assmonkey told this stuff on TV- Do you really think its true? These shows are all scripted. Why do you think they would tell you what they paid for it. All the hokey ass TV shows are the same. Entertaining? Maybe. True? Not a chance. Pass the kool aid.
My $.02 worth.
I don’t believe this is the Gas Monkey car. It has a few things that are not original( fuel pressure regulator and throttle linkage) which isn’t a huge deal except for the asking price. These cars did not have a Renault gearbox, early ones shared the close ratio Elan box while later had a user friendly lower 1st gear. A concourse Locort at this asking price? Absolutely but this one might demand s slightly lower price.
These have a ford 4 speed box..The mid engined Europa used the Renault 16 5 speed transaxle with either the matching engine or the ford/lotus twincam eng as fitted to the cortina/escort/elan.
This would be one of the last If its a 66.
My second car, in HS was a Mark II GT with the 1600 cross flow engine. Fast little car and fun to toss sideways into a corner.
A fond memory is of Jackie Stewart driving one of these at Laguna Seca –
inside front wheel almost a foot off the ground, maybe a foot off the hay bales lining the pit wall exiting Turn 9 . He finished 7th in GT under 2 liters, behind
4 Porsche 904s,a Lotus Elan, and an Alfa Romeo GTZ
This is part of a private collection I toured two years ago during a Porsche Driving Event associated with Amelia Island Concours de Elegance. All the cars were immaculately maintained former race cars, Ferraris, Porsches, and Fords. No pictures were allowed, discrete location. I lusted after two Ford Lotus powered cars, this was one.
In the mid 70s my buddy and I played a fun little prank on his sister. She had a off white Cortina with a automatic transmission. My brother in law had just purchased the same car same color but with a manual trans. One night we slipped her car out of the garage and replaced it with the manual car. We transferred all the contents (tissue box, loose pens, change, etc)
She got into her car to go to work in the morning and was dumbfounded! Ran back into the house screaming at her brother to put her auto transmission back into her car this instant!! Good clean fun!