For sale: 1977 998 LS Mini Leyland

On the outside the GTi was one of the most outspoken sports hatches in its class, with a distinct body kit, wheels and a great stance. All GTis were finished in a silver grey paint colour (code AC16930). A sticker confirming the paint code was mounted on the car's bulkhead (an example is shown in the image gallery).

• Body kit:

A body kit was designed and fitted by Lotus to achieve better aerodynamics. Features included:

• Distinct wheel arch flares with exposed bolts, which connected to a sculpted side skirt panel.
• Front and back sports bumpers/splitters: The front bumper integrated large air dams and fog lights, the back integrated rear fog lamps (inboard mounted) and reflectors (outboard mounted).
• Unique twin “square” exhaust tips exit either side of the rear splitter.
• A large rear spoiler was fitted to the tail gate. On the rare “LE” models, a small spoiler was also added below the rear window.
• A sunroof was optional.

• Badging:

We have sighted several inconsistencies and changes with the GTis badging based on observing cars from different years and in different markets. We note the following badging observed on various cars:

• Proton badge fitted to LHS of the rear hatch.
• 'Handling by Lotus' badge fitted to RHS of the rear hatch.
• Early cars appear to have (from top to bottom on the rear RHS of the hatch) “GTi”, over “16V” over “Handling by Lotus”. Sighted on cars 1999 – 2000 so far.
• Late UK cars appear to have simply “GTi” over ”Handling by Lotus”
• Later cars had “Satria” over “GTi” over “Handling by Lotus” (Australian cars appear to always have this - with the exception of early cars).
• Precise positioning of badging appears to be inconsistent. Some are positioned higher/lower than others. We presume this is factory error rather than aftermarket changes applied by owners.
• Some GTis have “Proton” also on the front doors rub strip – this appears to be on some of the UK cars. We have not sighted it on many 
• Rare “LE” models also had LE badging on the rear tail gate.

• Wheels
  • All GTis were fitted with 6-spoke 6.5J x 16 ET46 wheels. These had a stud pattern of 4 x 100.
  • Tyres fitted were originally Pirelli 205/45R16 83V P7000.
• General
  • Green window tint.
  • Rear centre-mounted “bee-sting” antenna.