SAVAGE BEASTS

THE RACE PROVED CORTINAS

Jeff Uren was initially a racer for Ford but after a stint as their Rally and Competitions manager he set up Race Proved Performance and Racing Equipment Ltd, constructing, amongst others, the Cortina Savage. Most of Mk2 Cortina Savages were based on the 1600E, along with a few Lotus and Estate models, but Race Proved’s conversions began on 1500GTs.The engines were 3-litre Essex V6s as fitted to Mk4 Zodiacs, tuned by Westlake Engineering. Chassis rails were seam welded and fitted with a Corsair V4 front crossmember. Brakes were uprated as was suspension with stiffer springs and shocks, negative camber, revised mountings and anti-roll bars. Despite double the engine size only 56 per cent of the weight was over the front wheels and handling was equal to or better than standard. Some 1000 Savages were built based on Mk2 to Mk4 Cortinas, with around 700 other Fords from Escorts to Capris and evenTransits also passing through Jeff’s hands.