MARKETWATCH AN EYE ON VALUES 1965 LOTUS EURO TIN TOPS
Whether two doors or four, the Europeans have long ruled the sports sedan world. Take a Ford Cortina, add some Lotus-sourced hardware and badging, and presto, the Lotus Cortina was born. The BMW 2002 is another excellent example: On weekdays you could drive it to work, and on the week- end, with a little aggressive shifting, your commuter was transformed into something far less mundane. The folks at Jaguar had the formula as well, with a race-winning inline- six fitted in every production car. The list goes on.
If you’re priced out of the market for a two-door coupe or convertible from your favorite European manufacturer, your next best bet might just be waiting in a more conservative cloak.
Because “performance” and “family friendly” really can coexist in the same package
Dave Kinney
SOLD AT $42,120 1965 LOTUS CORTINAMk I
BONHAMS, MONTEREY, CA AUGUST 18, 2011 | LOT 19
The white paintwork had definitely seen better days, complemented appropriately by tired, scratched and cloudy chrome. The window gaskets were close to perished, and you didn’t have to look too closely to see dents in the roof. The dash had a few cracks, and someone had found another efficient use for duct tape as a way to hold the black vinyl pieces from the seats together. With their inline-fours and four-speed manuals, we all thought of Lotus Cortinas as the affordable, fun and faster alternative to Ford’s
well-loved Cortina. With prices like this for a car in this condition, perhaps they are affordable no more. Highly prized and highly collectible, the Lotus Cortina is still a conversation starter on wheels.
SOLD AT $13,200 1974 BMW 2002 tii
BARRETT-JACKSON, SCOTTSDALE, AZ JANUARY 17, 2012 | LOT 42
1974 BMW 24
HAGERTY.COM
Finished in burgundy over black leather, with a 2.0-liter inline-four and four-speed manual transmis- sion, the car had decent paint and good brightwork, and the vendor stated 3,000 miles since a powertrain rebuild. The tii is the desirable fuel-injected version of the BMW that made an entire generation take notice. Real ones show “278” at the beginning of the serial number. These are about as practical as you’ll find in this seg- ment, and they’re easy to maintain, with great parts support. Online classifieds always have a selection of 2002s in various conditions, but watch out for the tin worm — far and away the 2002’s biggest enemy.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68