2016 Westfield Eleven

‘WHM 305’ is a replica Lotus 11 that was built in 2016 and has been carefully garaged ever since. Still showing just 2,200 miles on the odometer, it’s had just the one former keeper and has been in the seller’s care since 2018.

Fitted with a 1330cc MG Midget engine and a Ford Type 9 gearbox, Westfield itself did the final IVA preparation, which is reassuring. All-in-all, the first owner wrote Westfield a cheque for more than £15,000 – and even that was far from being the end of the matter because there is also a thick wad of invoices on file from well-respected folk such as Demon Tweeks, Moss, Swiftune, and Europa.

Apparently, the chap who built it bought a donor car to try to save money but then couldn’t bring himself to bolt secondhand parts to his shiny new car, so ended up spending far more than he’d anticipated on new bits.

This is a story many of us who’ve built or restored cars will be familiar with.

Finished in Westfield Racing Green with a Crimson interior, the seller has spent the past few years enjoying it with his son, including taking it to a few local classic car shows.

Sadly, illness now prevents him enjoying it as much as he’d like, so he feels now is the time to let someone else have as much fun with it as they have.

Finished in Westfield Racing Green with white roundels, tan leather straps, stick-on numberplates, bullet mirrors, a side-exit exhaust, alloy panels, and wire wheels, this little XI is so perfectly spec’d it looks like a 1:1 scale model of the Le Mans racing cars you dreamed of as a kid.

And every single inch of it is magnificent, including the offside bullet mirror, which is mounted on three separate struts, an arrangement that’s as wonderfully OTT as the mount for the matching interior mirror.

The headlamps are faired-in too, a feature that echoes the Perspex screen that wraps around the car and along the vestigial doors. Other niceties include a front towing point, good lamp lenses, and alloy panels on the lower body.

Of course, the star of the show is the organic-shaped body, which looks like a sheet of fibreglass has been draped over the mechanical components and left to cure before being shaved into the most aerodynamic shape possible – and there was only ever going to be one colour to finish it in, wasn’t there?

The painted 13-inch centre-lock wire wheels are in good shape too, and they’re cloaked in matching Vredestein T-Trac 2 tyres. All have good tread, but they are getting on a bit now as they’re the ones that were fitted back in 2016.

Of course, there’s no roof but there is a very nice and surprisingly useful red tonneau cover that would keep your nether regions warm should you want to unlock Legend Status and drive it through the winter.

As for flaws, there is a scuff to the nearside chrome sill cover, plus another to the nearside front wheelarch. There are also two indents above the front numberplate the size of a 20 pence coin, and the bonnet itself sits slightly proud. There are also marks to the trailing edge of the driver’s door and aperture.

The panels show the usual light swirls, but we think a professional should be able to machine-polish most of those out.

When the interior is as minimal as this you can afford to get everything just so – and this is a great example of how to do it right.

Trimmed in Crimson, the deep bucket seats are more comfortable than they look but every bit as supportive as their shape suggests, albeit they are aided and abetted by a pair of TRS harnesses.

The driver benefits from a lovely headrest too, and the wood-rimmed, 13-inch steering wheel is a joy to both hold and behold.

The dashboard is also padded with red leather and plays host to a set of very nice white-on-black Smiths instruments and some clearly labelled switches.

The polished gearknob and handbrake look terrific too, and their gaiters are, naturally, made of red leather.

The matching carpets are in great shape with barely any signs of wear, and an electrical cut-off point is fitted on the firewall between the front seats.

As for issues, apart from a few marks on the back of the driver’s seat and the headrest, you must be careful opening the doors, especially the driver’s door as the mirror will hit the floor if it is left to drop.

This is a problem that’s left some light crazing to both Perspex side windows, a starburst crack to the paint under one fastener on the top of the passenger door, as well as marks on the offside mirror capping.

The carpet has come adrift in the passenger footwell too, there’s a small hole in the leather underneath the switch for the hazard warning lights, and the key is stuck in the ignition barrel.

The MG Midget engine was stripped down and fully rebuilt. It now displaces 1330cc courtesy of, amongst many other things, Swiftune Omega forged pistons and a billet camshaft. Power output is now in the region of 90+bhp, which feels like a nice balance between power and driveability.

Turning on the ignition triggers a happy dance from the speedometer in anticipation, and the four-cylinder engine fires into life with equal enthusiasm.

It revs well too, with an attractive induction roar from the twin carburettors and boasts an even more impressive exhaust note; this is an engine that punches well above its diminutive displacement.

The engine bay is neat and workmanlike. The bonnet folds up and away, giving unparalleled access to the 1330cc lump, Gaz coilovers, and other ancillaries – and even if you don’t think you’re going to be doing your own maintenance, we bet you end up sitting in the garage admiring it anyway.

(One thing you might like to do is to buy and fit a new battery as the old one won’t hold a charge. The Westfield does come with a CTEK charger though, so this shouldn’t be an ongoing issue.)

The rear body also pivots away revealing a full-size spare wheel, which is another lovely touch and one you’ll be very grateful for should you be unlucky enough to get a puncture.

As for the underside, it’s hard to photograph it given how low the Westfield sits but after lying on our backs and peering up we can confirm it looks to be every bit as clean as you’d expect to find on a car that’s still barely run-in.

There is a little rust forming on the grey subframe but it’s superficial for now and could be dealt with at your leisure.

The Westfield’s MoT certificate expired in September 2024. It, like the two before, was issued with no advisories though, so getting another might not be too onerous.

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear, and the history file includes the original Westfield invoices along with a bunch of others that prove this was no bargain basement build.

The original build manual is also included along with the picking list Westfield used to collect all the bits and bobs on the order form.

Peter Egan, the legendary motoring journalist, built a Westfield XI for Road and Track – and embarked on a 5,000-mile road trip the day after he’d finished it.

He wrote: “How does the car work? Just fine, thank you. It's quick, light, fun to drive, and handles so well you can't believe the suspension was designed nearly 30 years ago. (But then the man who designed it was good at this sort of thing.) Suffice it to say that when the sun is just rising on a Sunday morning and you just happen to own a cap and a pair of goggles, the Westfield is not a bad thing to have lurking in your garage.”

And how much will it cost to have this fine example of an iconic sportscar lurking in your garage?

We estimate it’ll be somewhere between £15,000 and £20,000, which is a ridiculously small sum to pay for a car like this, even factoring in the need for an MoT.

NB: If you want to know more about its performance and handling, search YouTube for “Technic 550 Spyder vs Westfield 11” and enjoy seven and a half minutes of Tiff Needell and Jason Plato battling it out.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.