09/01/2026
1999 Ascari Ecosse 😮
With just 17 built and powered by a mid-mounted BMW V8, the Ascari Ecosse represents the apex of rare and unique British sports cars.
The Ecosse was the first production car built by Ascari starting in 1998 and was the production version of the FT concept race car. Ascari divided their vehicles into two classifications, road cars and race cars. Their road cars include the Ascari FT which was released in 1995. This was followed by Ecosse. Both the FT and this car were designed by Lee Nobel.
Ascari aimed to offer the most visceral experience behind the wheel as possible, while also enabling the buyer to customize the car freely as they wished. The cabin is unexpectedly comfortable with plush leather seats and plenty of headroom.
Sitting behind the seats is the 4.7-litre BMW M62 V8 engine. In standard form these engines produced about 300 bhp, though the Ecosse engines were rebuilt by noted BMW tuning company Hartge, modified to extract over 400 horsepower!
Ascari built these cars to an extremely high standard using lightweight carbon Kevlar around a spaceframe chassis. While the Ascari is still generally an unknown gem in the sports car world, it certainly speaks for itself when you are behind the wheel. The Banbury factory was also the home of Ascari’s racing assets. As of this year, the factory is now occupied by Haas F1 Team.
