This 1965 Ashley Sportiva (chassis J252/38) is one of only a few built by small volume British manufacturer Ashley laminates, as detailed here by reader Ivor C.’s website dedicated to the obscure but interesting marque. These cars were offered in both kit form and with an Ashley-engineered chassis, though it’s not clear how this car was originally supplied. It’s an unusual but cool little car, and almost seems like a cousin to the Peerless. Find it here at Classic Car Auctions in Emmeloord, Netherlands for with bidding starting at 14,500 euros (~$19,826 today), and closing on January 2nd. Special thanks to Ivor for the submission!

Though originally red it’s now wears a very bright shade of yellow that honestly doesn’t do much for the car’s unconventional but not entirely unattractive lines. Things might improve with a less monochromatic scheme, though, and we’d start with stripping the wire wheels to bare metal. The front bumper seems to be an integral part of the fiberglass body shell, and overall cosmetics seem to be a bit rough. A nice quality restoration in a deep burgundy, green, blue, silver, or gray would be ideal. GT and V6 badging is not original and would be the first things to go under our watch.

Inside the tan leather upholstery looks pretty decent, but like the exterior everything else would benefit greatly from a refresh in more tasteful colors and detailing. We’d swap the cheapo steering wheel for a wood rimmed Moto Lita, ditch the corny “Ashley ” dash painted script, and burn the yellow and black carpeting in a 40 gallon drum. The dash cover and gauges seemto be in nice shape, though, and we can imagine this being quite a good-looking cabin with a bit of work. Kit cars don’t have to be trashy.

The forward-tilting clam shell bonnet has been modified to clear a 2.7 liter Ford V6. The car was originally fitted with an unspecified 1,725 CC mill, and would probably handle better with a similar, small displacement motor up front. In an ideal, no expense spared build we’d source an appropriate twin cam four of some sort. A Lotus or Coventry engine would seem like a nice upgrade, but even a basic Triumph mill was able to take the Peerless cars to LeMans. There’s no info on mechanical condition, but judging by the cosmetics we’d be sure to budget for some suspension, brake, frame, and electrical work.

We really like this charming little coupe and don’t mean tosound harsh–it is entirely worthy of some love and attention to polish it into the unique and capable machine it should be, but currently sits in a bit of a sad, neglected state. There’s no accounting for taste, but fortunately the bad variety isn’t permanent here. We hope it find a committed, resourceful, and enthusiastic new home.