The Chevrolet-powered Ascari prototype that preceded the Ecosse will go under the hammer in London next month
To do some credit to Ascari, the manufacturer has gone a lot further than most start-up supercar companies. While most of them don’t get far beyond the dreaded “vaporware” phase, Ascari has put several models into production and – shockingly – even sold some of them.
“Few” is the key word here, however. The British company, which took its name from two-time Formula 1 champion Alberto Ascari, only produced around 80 cars before it was dissolved in 2010, just 16 years after it was founded. Today the former Banbury site is home to the Haas F1 team.
Finished Ascari products were hard to come by back then, and today we can present you the rarest – the FGT. It’s a one-off prototype based on the blueprints of a car of the same name by Lee Noble that he created a few years before Noble Automotive was founded and things like the M12 were built. An emerging company called Ascari bought the rights to the design that eventually became this green FGT.
The prototype is said to have caught the eye of the Dutch entrepreneur and racing driver Klaas Zwart at the 1995 British Motor Show. Then he grabbed Ascari and commissioned a racing version powered by a Ford Modular V8. It appeared in various races in the British GT Championship over three seasons (including a post shared between Zwart and Top Gear presenter Tiff Needell) and proved competitive but unreliable. It took a couple of podiums, but most of the time the car failed.
The roadworthy prototype uses Chevrolet Power instead of Ford, with a 6.0-liter V8 that has been upgraded with ARP components and develops around 420 hp. The mid-engine drives the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission.
The FGT finally produced the series version “Ecosse”. The Chevy engine was swapped out for a Hartge-tuned BMW 4.4-liter V8, but it looked similar on the outside, except for the FGT’s pop-up headlights that made room for solid clusters of lights. Boo
The current owner of the FGT prototype found the car in a farm building after apparently languishing there for 13 long years. Getting it back on the road, an ordeal that included a complete engine and transmission rebuild, was a three year process. It should go under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s London on November 6th. The sale includes an extensive history folder with invoices, advertising material, magazine articles and photos of the restoration work. Since this is a prototype, the fit and finish remain a little rough and finished in places, but that’s half the charm.
Given how rare Ascari supercars are for sale, it’s hard to say how much the FGT could cost. One of the 19 Ecosse models built by Ascari was listed by the same auction house earlier this year at an estimate of € 155,000-195,000 (£ 131,000-165,000) but it was not sold.
Would that tempt you about a new entry-level supercar like an Audi R8?
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The post Here is your chance to buy the one-of-a-kind Ascari FGT first appeared on monter-une-startup.
