Extremely Cool Lotus Cortina

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The end product was an impressive piece of kit in 1963, very "slammed" and aggressive-looking in its English white with a green blaze livery -- the only way they came. It certainly wasn't something your Auntie drove to the Vicar's for tea. Ford's image was about to change. Lotus Cortinas were impressive out of the box in saloon racing, quickly establishing themselves as the car to beat in the under-2-liter class and often challenging for overall honors. The iconic image was repeated throughout Europe -- a thundering herd of saloons chasing one or two little white and green Cortinas, hunkered way over in a corner with their inside front tires lifted clear of the track. They didn't start racing until September 1963, but in 1964, they won the championship easily; same in 1965.

That "inside front wheel in the air" thing, by the way, was a function of stiff front springs and very soft rear ones, a design concept that you don't see much any more but seemed to work at the time. What didn't work was the fancy rear axle arrangement, which proved leaky and unreliable. For 1965, Chapman quietly went back to leaf springs with an iron differential, and nobody noticed.

Really nifty tin-top racer

Fast forward 40-plus years, and you've got a really nifty tin-top vintage racer. They're fun to drive, fairly reliable, easy to get parts for, and can be as fast as you want to make them, depending upon how much you want to pay an engine builder. Considering the money spent on this car, though, I doubt get-it-dirty racing is on the buyer's mind. I expect the car will become an honored (and mostly static) part of somebody's sports memorabilia collection.

Face it, we're an icon- and celebrity-worshiping society. If a Ferrari Lusso with seat wrinkles from Steve McQueen's tuckus can sell for three times an ordinary example, what must Jim Clark's imprimatur be worth? Obviously a lot, as that's the only real difference between this car and a lesser one. My friends who inspected the car were a little disappointed in how ordinary it seemed. Yeah, it got used as a street car for years after its glory time, but somehow, if you're buying a Team Lotus championship weapon for huge money, you'd like to have it be a bit scruffy and dog-eared, maybe with some old scrutineering stickers peeling off the side windows and some chips from battle.

It did have (replica) correct Works racing seats in it (Lotus 18 formula car seats -- terribly uncomfortable unless you're Clark's size), but full heater and ventilation? Aside from the documentation proving its provenance, it was for the world a street Lotus Cortina.

The documentation and provenance are what matter, however. Though he was an iconic early-1960s racing driver, Jim Clark had a very short career and didn't leave much behind. He didn't sign many autographs and he drove relatively few cars, so the pickings are slim if you really want something to collect. Personally, I am a vintage racer, not a memorabilia collector, so I can't really understand spending that kind of premium for the history, but neither can I say it was wrong. The market clearly values the rarity that provenance bestows on certain cars, and this was an example. I hope that history proves it to have been well bought.

Details

Years Produced: 196366

Number Produced: 2,894

Original List Price: $3,420 (U.S., 1965)

SCM Valuation: $14,000$21,000

Chassis # Location: Right fender apron in engine compartment

Engine # Location: On block by distributor

Club Info: Lotus Cortina Register

Website: click to visit

Alternatives: 196567 Alfa GTA, 197175 BMW 2002tii, 196466 Mini Cooper S

Investment Grade: B

Provided by Sports Car Market—The Insider's Guide to Collecting, Investing, Values and Trends