Cortina crossed the pond in popular fashion
The Ford Motor Company of England's first “captive imports” that arrived in North American shortly after the Second World War came with 1930s technology and styling. Leaf-spring front suspension, mechanical brakes and tiny long stroke, side-valve engines made those 1940s Anglias and Prefects marginally suitable for our wideopen spaces.
But new post-war designs like the 1951 Ford Consul, six-cylinder Zephyr and more powerful Zodiac soon arrived, thoroughly modern cars that kept up with normal traffic and carried five/six passengers.
They popularized MacPherson strut front suspension in North America and introduced suspended pedals, both of which eventually swept the industry. They were the first Fords with overhead valves and 12-volt electrics.
The smaller Anglia and Prefect were also modernized with new styling and a short-stroke overhead-valve four that would prove tough and very expandable. It would establish a robust reputation in sedan and openwheel racing in various displacements and cars.
The subject of our story, the Cortina, initially called the Consul Cortina, arrived in the fall of 1962 as a 1963 model. Some components came from the Anglia, such as the four-speed floor-shift transmission and four-cylinder engine with the stroke increased from 48.3 millimetres to 58.2. This brought displacement from 1.0 to 1.2 litres, but even with the longer stroke, the bore of 81 mm meant it was still a very over-square engine.
The four- or five-passenger Cortina came initially as a twodoor sedan, but was soon expanded to four doors and a station wagon. Styling was clean and appealing with a full-width grille and a beltline spear-shaped crease running front to rear, ending in just the hint of a tailfin. Generous windows provided an airy feeling and good visibility.
Performance was modest but comparable with other contemporary small cars. Its 53 horsepower could accelerate the 805kilogram two-door to 100 km/h in 24.4 seconds, according to Road & Track.
The most popular small car of that period, the Volkswagen, took 27.7 seconds. The Cortina's top speed was 121 km/h, the VW's 115.
While R&T was favourably impressed by the Cortina, they noted the shortcoming that plagued most small cars of that era: low gearing. At a normal 97 km/h cruise, the Cortina's four buzzed at 3,800 rpm while at a not-unusual 113 km/h, it strained at more than 4,400.
With a price in the $1,800 range, the Cortina represented good value and its 8L/100 km (35 mpg) fuel economy was an attractive feature.
But Ford soon realized that some Cortina purchasers would like more performance, so within a few months the Cortina Super became available. Another stroke increase brought displacement to 1.5 litres and 60 horsepower, improving zero to 100 km/h to under 20 seconds and increasing top speed to 129 km/h.
Based on the Super's success, Ford went further with the Cortina GT. With higher compression, stronger pistons, hotter camshaft and two-barrel Weber carburetor, it produced 79 horsepower. Zero to 100 km/h dropped to 14.5 seconds and top speed went to 146 km/h.
While this performance pleased Walter Hayes, Ford's U.K. public relations chief, he still wasn't satisfied. He approached Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus Cars Ltd., builder of road and race cars. They reached an agreement in which Lotus would construct a high-performance Cortina.
The result was the Lotus Cortina, the ultimate evolution of the Cortina. The Ford engine was increased slightly to 1.6 litres and fitted with a Lotus-designed twin-overhead-cam cylinder head and twin Weber carburetors. A stronger driveline was added and the rear leaf springs replaced by coils. Some aluminum body panels reduced weight.
The Lotus Cortina zipped to 100 km/h in 10.5 seconds and reached 171 km/h, outstanding performance for a small family sedan. It was introduced in 1963, but didn't reach North America until 1966.
The Cortina was facelifted for 1965 and got flow-through ventilation. Then, for 1967, the Mark II version received more angular lines that took away some of its earlier character, such as the beltline sculpting.
By 1967, Ford decided the Lotus was garnering more publicity from the Lotus Cortina than Ford was, so they cancelled the agreement. Ford took over the project and it became the Ford Cortina Twin-Cam.
Cortina sales were discontinued in the U.S. in 1970 with the arrival of the 1971 Ford Pinto and in Canada in 1973, replaced by the Mercury Bobcat. It would continue in England for several more years until the Sierra arrived.
The Ford Cortina in its many iterations was a tough, well-built little car, with the Lotus/TwinCam versions offering an exciting extra measure of performance.