Ford’s greatest hits
01 Ford Model T
Released in 1908, five years after Ford’s foundation, the Model T was the car that got the world moving. Affordable, durable and simple enough to operate, over 15 million Model Ts were built. By the early Twenties more than half of all the cars in the world were Fords.
04 07 Ford F-Series
America loves pickups. And above all, America loves the Ford F-150. As of 2019, Ford’s F-Series has been the bestselling pick-up in the US for more than 43 years running, and the bestselling vehicle full stop for 38 years in a row. In 2019 Ford sold almost one million trucks.
Ford Cortina
Like so many Fords, the Cortina was Britain’s bestselling car for years on end. Named after the glamorous Italian ski resort, the Cortina was an everyday hero. This is a car which anyone who grew up in the Sixties and Seventies is bound to be familiar with.
02 Ford GT40
Turn the page for the full story. Here’s the short version: Ford tried to buy Ferrari but failed. Enraged, Mr Ford decreed that Ford would beat Ferrari at its own game – Le Mans. After a rocky start, the GT40 would win the LM24 four times in a row starting in 1966.
05 Ford Transit
In much the same way you might call a 4x4 a ‘Jeep’, or a vacuum cleaner a ‘Hoover’, so iconic is the humble Ford Transit in Britain that the word ‘Transit’ has become a byword for any van. This British institution celebrated its 50th birthday back in 2015.
08 Ford Focus MkI
Replaced the ageing and, by then, quite rubbish Ford Escort. Looked like nothing Ford had built before with its ‘New Edge’ styling, and handled better than a five-door family hatchback had any right to. In truth, a bit of a revelation. Current model still best in its class to drive.
03 Ford Mustang
The reasonably priced, four-seat pony car instantly and dramatically shifted the American car market about its axis when it debuted in ‘64. The Mustang racked up 22,000 sales on its first day, and a million in just 18 months, effectively birthing the muscle car genre.
06 Ford Fiesta
Britain loves the Ford Fiesta. Has done since it came out in the Seventies. It’s been the bestselling car here for years and deservedly so, because it’s really very good indeed. Traditionally the most fun car in its class to drive, and the basis for some stonking hot hatches.
09 Ford GT
The retro-tastic Ford GT was built to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary in 2003, and actually went into limited production a year later. A handful came to Europe (officially) to do battle with the Lambo Gallardo and Ferrari F430. A hugely underrated car.