Ascari was a small British sports-car marque associated with Dutch entrepreneur and racing driver Klaas Zwart. Its rare mid-engined Ecosse grew out of the FGT concept, and a notable left-hand-drive example was offered by RM Sotheby’s in Paris in 2021—but it did not sell. Later auction records include a different Ecosse sold in 2023; neither result establishes a current asking price or the present availability of a car.
What was Ascari?
Ascari Cars was an English low-volume sports-car company associated with Dutch entrepreneur and racing driver Klaas Zwart. The name can suggest a connection to Italian racing champion Alberto Ascari, but Robin Nooy’s 2021 Monochrome article says there was no direct link and expands Ascari as “Anglo-American Car Industries.” The Market’s 2022 listing says the name’s origin is disputed, so that expansion should be treated as one account rather than a settled explanation.
Zwart became interested in the FGT concept, acquired the company and raced the car while developing a road-going version. RM Sotheby’s 2021 catalog entry says the FGT appeared at the 1995 British Motor Show and was designed by Lee Noble. The Ecosse became Ascari’s first production car. Its launch date is reported differently: RM Sotheby’s gives 1997, while The Market describes a 1998 launch.
What was the Ascari Ecosse like?
The Ecosse developed the FGT’s mid-engined layout into a road car, pairing performance hardware with comfort equipment. For the specific 1997 car RM Sotheby’s offered, the catalog describes a Hartge-tuned 4.4-litre BMW V8 producing about 300 bhp, a stated weight of 1,250 kg and a claimed top speed of 200 mph. These are catalog figures for that example, not independently verified test results.
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The same car had leather trim, air conditioning, premium audio and a carbon-fibre dashboard. RM Sotheby’s records a five-speed manual gearbox that had been upgraded to six speeds on this example. Ecosse specifications were not uniform across production: The Market’s 2022 listing describes later cars with 4.7-litre engines rated at 400 bhp, and final examples with 5.0-litre BMW V8s rated at 420 bhp. It also notes sequential gearboxes on two concluding cars. Those later figures should not be conflated with the 1997 auction car’s specification.
How many Ecosse cars were made?
Published production totals conflict. RM Sotheby’s and Monochrome report 19 Ecosse examples, with two left-hand-drive cars. The Market’s 2022 listing says Ascari is believed to have built 17. The safest conclusion is that fewer than twenty were made, while recognizing that the sources do not agree on the exact total.
What happened to the Ecosse offered in Paris in 2021?
RM Sotheby’s offered a 1997 left-hand-drive Ecosse, chassis SA9FGT1BNVT074008, in Paris in 2021 with an estimate of €155,000–€195,000. The lot was recorded as Not Sold; the estimate was not a sale price.
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The catalog says the car spent much of its early life at the Ascari Race Resort near Ronda, Spain, was exported to the Netherlands in 2011 and remained with the Zwart family until 2019. It had covered just over 12,000 miles, was repainted dark metallic green and had been converted from five speeds to six. The result documents what happened to this particular lot at that auction, not whether it is available now.
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Later records concern other Ecosse cars, not the 1997 Paris lot. The Market’s listing for a 2000 right-hand-drive example ended on 2 August 2022 with an estimate of £100,000–£120,000. CLASSIC.COM’s market history records that lot as not sold at £75,000.
The Market’s archive records a 2000 Ecosse sold for £90,000 on 26 May 2023; CLASSIC.COM shows the same date and result. That is a historical transaction for a different car, not a current valuation or proof of present availability.
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What should a collector check on an Ecosse?
With so few cars and reported differences across the run, a headline estimate or auction result is a poor substitute for assessing the individual vehicle. Before comparing examples, establish what car is actually being described and what evidence supports its condition and history.
- Identity and provenance: confirm the chassis number, ownership history, location history and any supporting documents.
- Engine and output: check displacement and specification against the particular car; reported 4.4-, 4.7- and 5.0-litre versions are not interchangeable.
- Transmission: verify the fitted gearbox and whether any conversion or upgrade is documented.
- Condition and maintenance: inspect the car and review service invoices and maintenance records rather than relying on mileage alone.
- Transaction context: distinguish an estimate from a sale, a no-sale result from a completed transaction, and one chassis’s result from another’s.
Does Ascari still make cars?
Companies House currently lists ASCARI CARS LIMITED, company SC154796, as active, incorporated on 2 December 1994, with a motor-vehicle-manufacturing business classification. That entry establishes the company’s register status; it does not establish that Ascari is producing cars, supporting Ecosse owners or operating the historical marque as a going concern. See the Companies House record.
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