Classic Ford Cortina raced and owned by British legends sells at auction for jaw-dropping price
A FORD Cortina raced and owned by British racing and music legends has sold at auction for an incredible amount.
The 1963 Ford Lotus Cortina was driven by famous racers Jim Clark, Jack Sears and Sir John Whitmore and owned by musician Chris Rea.
Ford teamed up with lotus to build this multiple race-winning motor and bidders went crazy for it at auction with Collecting Cars.
The bidding stopped just shy of £114,000 (132,500 Euros) with the money going to a private seller in Geneva, Switzerland.
Win a Lamborghini Urus + £5k or £175k alternative
SUN readers can win a Lamborghini Urus + £5k or £175k alternative
We have teamed up with 7days Performance to offer you a special discounted chance to win the amazing cars this week.
Using the code SUN10, you will get 10p off the normal price of 99p.
Enter the competition HERE
Full terms and conditions can be found here
Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. 18+. T&Cs apply.
This very car was first raced at the Oulton Park Gold Cup in 1963, where it took the class win driven by Jack Sears.
A week later it won its class at Snetterton in the closing round of the British Saloon Car Champsionship in the hands of the legendary Jim Clark.
Most read in Motors
Then, in 1964, it was taken to the US, where it was raced at Sebring by American driver Dan Gurney.
After that it took a win at Pensacola with racer Sir John Whitmore, so the little Cortina is not short of motorsport heritage.
Years later in the 1980s, it was discovered abandoned in Florida but was given a full restoration.
Chris Rea then owned the car and it was driven at the Goodwood Festival of Speed by TV star Tiff Nedell.
READ MORE ON CAR AUCTIONS
The Lotus Cortina has a 1.6-litre twin-cam Lotus petrol engine, fed by twin Weber carburettors, driving the rear wheels through a four-speed manual.
The advert reads that the car is: ‘correctly finished Ermine White, with the Sherwood Green accents along the flanks, finished with gold ‘Team Lotus’ lettering and pinstriping.