Manufactured in 1964, but registered in 1965 this purposeful Lotus Cortina Mk.I is a well-known car in Cortina circles.  It is an early ‘A’ frame model that was later converted to leaf springs when used for Group 2 Historic Rallying by the French Ecurie Ten Rally Team circa 1990.

This car was owned in the late 1980’s by Richard Hudson-Evans, known to most in the classic car industry as an auction commentator and regular contributor to all things motoring via ClassicCarsForSale and other media.  It featured regularly in his writing at that time.

GRO 28C was the subject of a restoration programme in 2008/09 and as such the bodywork presents exceptionally well, as does the paint, the engine bay and underside of the car which is corrosion free.  The 105bhp, 1,558cc engine sparks to life on the first turn of the key and once you’ve mastered the viciousness of the clutch it’s actually a pleasant car to drive, and more docile than you might expect…until you turn the wick up that is!

The interior trim is in classic Black and in largely good order all-round save for some heavy scratching to the centre console near the gearbox gator that would benefit from being addressed.

Despite earning its spurs throughout the 1960’s in the hands of such talent as Jim Clark, the Lotus Cortina, and specifically Mk.I variants remain very topical, and even more so when offered in very good order and ready for immediate road use as our car is….