Highlights
- ‘Box fresh’ restored FIA prepared race car
- £140,000 restoration by Alan Mann Racing & E Type UK
- Offered with a very competitive reserve
- Every aspect of the car renovated and rebuilt
- Beautifully presented race-ready Mk1 Lotus Cortina
The Appeal
Colin Chapman was a man with a firm eye on opportunity, which is how the Lotus Cortina came about. The volume and funds the Ford association provided enabled him to move into building his own engines. Here’s your chance to ‘do a Chapman’ and bag a Cortina-shaped opportunity too.
This superb 1965 Mk1 Lotus Cortina has covered zero miles since a comprehensive £110,000 restoration completed in December 2025. The car has been extensively worked on by high-end classic specialists E Type UK and Ford racing royalty, Alan Mann Racing. Every single area of this car has been touched by the work - and comprehensively improved. The result is a FIM prepared race car ready for historic campaigning.
The work is carefully documented in a raft of invoices dating from 2021 to late 2025. Latterly includes careful set-up and rolling road tuning by Alan Mann Racing. This car really is ready to go.
History and Paperwork
- Chassis number BA74EK59820 denoting September 1965 build date
- Extensively restored and upgraded Mk1 by blue chip specialists
- Long list of invoices detailed below totalling over £110,000
- These invoices from E Type UK and Alan Mann are shown in photos
- We are told the car is FIA prepared and ready to race
- Vendor states that this car is a genuine pre-airflow model
List of restoration invoices by specialists (further details in photos):
- 12/25 - £1,426 - Alan Mann Racing - rolling road and tuning
- 11/25 - £2,810 - Alan Mann Racing - carburettor tuning and rebuild
- 12/23 - £13,357 - E Type UK - suspension, trim, ignition and carb work
- 10/22 - £5,667 - E Type UK - screen, glass, FIA exhaust and trim work
- 08/22 - £5,334 - E Type UK
- 07/22 - £7,071 - E Type UK - rebuild rear axle etc
- 06/22 - £2,236 - E Type UK - various parts as shown
- 04/22 - £5,699 - E Type UK - hoses, shock absorbers etc
- 03/22 - £7,637 - E Type UK - brake work, fuel system etc
- 11/21 - £688 - E Type UK - gearbox preparation for rebuild
- 08/21 - £902 - E Type UK - race fuel tank
- 05/21 - £307 - E Type UK - door handles
- 04/21 - £8,500 - DM Historics - engine preparation, alternator, steering box etc
- 03/21 - £31,185 - DM Historics - fire extinguisher, carburettor work etc
- 02/21 - £10,039 - DM Historics - hubs, suspension refurbishment etc
- 01/21 - £7,679 - DM Historics - fabrication and fuel system etc
The Condition
- Freshly restored Lotus Cortina in correct off-white with green stripes
- Aluminium lightweight bonnet, boot and doors
- Bare metal restoration and respray by well-regarded specialists as above
- Sits on Minilite-style alloys with Dunlop Racing tyres
- Stripped interior with FIA correct specification
- Extensive recent fittings, including fire system and reworked electrics
- Single Sparco racing seat with harness
- Safety Devices roll cage
Hayes and Chapman’s transformation of the Transatlantic-infused Mk1 Cortina was very clever. Distinctive off-white paintwork and a green stripe were pretty much all it took to elevate the Lotus Cortina well above its humble suburban runaround siblings. The lightweight aluminium bonnet, boot and doors weren’t immediately obvious to bystanders, but they helped keep weight low despite the heavier Lotus twin cam engine.
As the photos and invoices prove, this car has received an intensive bare metal restoration and has been finished to a very high level. The odometer confirms it has travelled zero miles since completion.
The Mechanics
- Lotus 1,557cc 105bhp twin cam engine
- 4spd manual gearbox
- Lightened gearbox and differential cases
- Comprehensive mechanical overhaul and rebuild by specialists
- Recent carburettor overhaul and rolling road tune-up by Alan Mann Racing
When Alan Mann Racing is involved, you know you’re looking at something quite special. The outfit was founded in the same year that this car left the factory, subsequently cutting its teeth racing Fords and becoming the Blue Oval’s pre-eminent race team. AMR took this car on towards the end of its development, undertaking carburettor work, tuning and rolling road testing. This work was completed in December 2025.
AMR’s work builds on the car’s ‘nut and bolt’ mechanical and running gear renovation by E Type UK. Naturally more commonly associated with Jaguar’s svelte coupe, this firm has vast experience preparing historic racers so was an obvious choice for the work on this Cortina.
The car appears to have covered zero miles since completion. With all that work, it is now ready to race.
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