2000 Ascari Ecosse

This is number 14 of 17 recorded, which means it’s got the five-litre BMW engine and the sequential gearbox, features we are told are unique to this as the only one built to the same specification is in Ascari’s own collection and is unlikely to ever come up for sale.

The first owner sadly died when the car had only covered 4,500 miles and was still almost new. It was then placed in storage for ten years before being bought by the vendor. As a engineer with his own workshop facilities at home, he went through the car to remedy any faults. He found none. He’s since run it for another 7,000 miles and hasn’t had a single issue with it.

Finished in BMW Aqua Blue and a two-tone grey leather and Alcantara interior, it’s got the sports exhaust option too, so it sounds every bit as good as it looks – and, as you can see, it looks very good indeed.

Still showing fewer than 11,500 miles on the odometer, this is almost certainly going to be your only chance to buy an Ecosse with this specification.

The cab forward look was a staple of early 90s supercar design, arguably most successfully executed by Gordon Murray on the McLaren F1. That the Ecosse runs it a close second is praise indeed.

The F1 reveals itself in the recessed, quad headlamps too as well as the flared rear wheelarches and rear lights. There’s also a hint of Jaguar XJS in the flying buttresses.

There are also race car influences in the hefty aluminium front towing eye. And the huge rear spoiler and deep front air dam. And carbonfibre rear valance.

This example is beautifully presented; the BMW Aqua Blue paintwork gleams and shows off the car’s wind-cleaving curves to perfection. The build quality is evident and the fact that it’s survived a quarter of a century with such aplomb is testament to the car’s two owners as well as the folk that built it.

The black, multi-spoke, 18-inch alloy wheels are in fine fettle too; you would expect to find car-park scrapes on a car of this quality so their absence isn’t a surprise. The observant will have noticed the AP Racing brake calipers peeking out. Six-pot on the front, they’re painted a discrete black rather than the more usual – and vulgar – red or yellow.

The low-profile tyres are 225/40ZR18 on the front and 275/35ZR18 on the rear axle. All are directional Avons but then matching tyres are de rigour on a car like this, surely? Nonetheless, as we will never get bored of pointing out, our experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

The interior is as glorious as the outside; while your eye might be drawn to the carbonfibre dashboard, the two-tone figure-hugging grey leather seats, Ascari-branded instruments, or aluminium gearchange, ours can’t focus on anything but the Tilton Racing floor-mounted pedals.

As a visible expression of the single-minded intent that led to the car’s creation they are right up there but there are other, maybe more subtle, examples can be also be found. Like the Alcantara-covered dashtop, all the better to cut glare. Or the low-slung driving position.

There’re more than a few touches of luxury too in the form of extensive leather trim, electric windows and mirrors, Ascari- and Kenwood-branded speakers for the Becker Mexico headunit and CD multichanger, Alcantara headlining, and a leather-trimmed steering wheel.

The good carpets are protected by branded overmats, and the whole interior reeks of understated elegance and cherished ownership.

We are told that everything works as it should.

As we mentioned earlier, the owner is a race engineer and has looked after the car in the decade he’s owned it. Well versed in high-end automotive engineering, he says he was staggered by the car’s engineering, saying “the build quality is beyond belief”.

As an example, he tells us that the wiring loom was built in-house to aircraft specification, with every single joint waterproofed; Ascari recognise that low-volume cars like this are prone to electrical faults and were determined that this wouldn’t be an issue with its cars.

Ascari also went to the big names for components too, so if the brakes need attention you need to look at the catalogues from AP Racing and Tilton. Quaife will help with the gearbox – and if you ever get stuck, the vendor has a full parts list to hand so will be able to tell you exactly where every component comes from, no matter how small.

There’s more BMW Aqua Blue paint under the bonnet plus acres of carbonfibre. It’s as well presented as the rest of the car, and in need of nothing other than continued maintenance and the odd tank of premium fuel.

The underside is just as good. Clean and undamaged and almost totally enclosed, you get peeks of the adjustable Eibach coilovers and all-round wishbone suspension, another nod to the car’s racing pedigree.

The car isn’t with us, so we haven’t driven it. The owner tells us that it is very easy to drive, although the sequential gearbox might take a bit of getting used to if you haven’t driven one before. He tells us that everything works - and that nothing has ever broken on it…

The Ascari’s MOT runs until June 2023, and was gained with no advisories. As you’d expect, it also has an almost unblemished pass record with only slight play in ball joints and an oil leak ruining its record in 2013 and 2011 respectively.

It comes with a factory specification sheet detailing its maintenance requirements, plus a current V5 registration document, various old invoices and bills, and a service history that includes bills and correspondence from Ascari itself. Self-maintained in the past decade in his own dedicated workshop, the vendor is very happy to talk potential bidders through the work he’s carried out on it.

The recent Vehicle History Check shows nothing of note other than a power of 1,340bhp! Clearly a typo, it would be useful fodder to wind your mates up though, wouldn’t it?

With an estimated range of somewhere between £100,000 and £120,000 (and that lower figure is considerably less than an earlier, 4.4-litre left-hand drive car reached – but didn’t sell for – at R. M. Sotheby’s earlier this year…) this is a staggeringly cheap way to buy into one of the most impressive, best-handling, and most beautifully engineered cars of its generation.

Designed by the chap who went on to form Noble Cars, the Ecosse is a true last-of-the-line, handbuilt supercar whose performance is every bit as impressive as its looks. It’s no traffic-light racer either, as the race-tuned suspension makes it every bit as quick around the track as its dramatic lines hint.

Of course, a six-figure sum gets you into some very impressive machinery but we doubt anything from McLaren, Ferrari or Lamborghini is engineered, built, or maintained to this standard.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with the vendor in Ashford, Kent. To arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.