1966.America
lands an unmanned spacecraft on the moon, Lesley Hornby (
Better known as "Twiggy" ) dons a "miniskirt" and grabs the
attention of the nation, England beat Germany 4-2 to take
the World Cup, and Ford, in October, launches the second generation
of the phenomenally successful, million selling Cortina.
First
seen earlier that year at the Earls
Court Motor Show, the MkII was an evolution of the winning formula
that was synonymous of the MkI.
Using
the same floorpan, Ford revised the Cortina with a new boxier
body styling, with clean lines, curved side windows, and a chic
new interior that offered more space and comfort than the previous
model. The new range of cars utilised many developed components
from the MkI, including the Kent overhead valve engines - as
seen in the Anglia and Classic as well as the MkI - offering
five main bearing crankshafts and 1298 and 1498cc capacities
as the powertrain of Ford's new medium sized car. Macpherson
strut front suspension was retained, though track dimension
front and rear was widened to improve handling and stability,
and disc brakes became standard equipment throughout the model
range that consisted of standard, de Luxe, Super and GT saloon
models. The market had to wait until February 1967 before an
estate version became available. Later, an export only 1098cc
powered saloon model was produced for those countries which
operated strict motor vehicle taxation laws that penalised owners’
of large engined cars. These 1100 Cortinas had full export specs,
which included column gearshift and front bench seats as well
as heavy duty suspension. Also, a limited run of Police specification
GT’s were produced on the Dagenham line with 16AC alternators,
heavy duty batteries and zip fastening roof linings, all to
accommodate the fitment of the "blue" flashing beacon.
Any
worries that the MkII would not achieve the same levels of
sales success as it's illustrious predecessor was short lived
as the new model attained record sales figures in the UK,
clocking up over 100,000 units in the first four months after
the car's launch.
Top
of the range in 1966 was the GT. Sporting a better placed rear
axle, wider steel wheels with radial tyres, with a twin-choke
Weber carburettor and four-branch exhaust manifold adorning
the 1498cc five main bearing Kent engine. The facia incorporated
a dash-top auxiliary instrument pod showing amps, temperature,
fuel and oil pressure gauges. Next to the speedometer was placed
a tachometer. Larger disk brakes and three-rail gearbox, uprated
suspension and rear radius arms ( Later removed ) completed
the GT package and offered an excellent product for the young
family man with Mini Cooper aspirations but who needed Cortina
space for the "brood", especially if he opted for the later
GT Estate, with all the fun of the GT package and the practicality
of a good sized estate.
March
1967 saw the introduction of the second emanation of the outstanding
Cortina Lotus model, later to be renamed the Cortina Twin Cam.
The Lotus engined model lost some of it's kudos as it came of
the same production line in Dagenham as it's less sporty siblings,
and not the Lotus factory where the MkI Lotus Cortina had been
assembled. The car easily made up for this with "GT" specification
interiors, race developed lowered suspension, radius arms and
anti-roll bar, all sitting on 5.5J wide wheels and radial tyres.
This was coupled with the highly admired 115bhp, 1558cc Twin-Overhead
Camshaft Lotus engine, which sported two Weber twin-choke, side-draught
carburettors. If that wasn't enough, the Competitions Department
at Boreham, Essex offered a bewildering selection of performance
optional extras. These included everything from protective shields
for sump and fuel tanks, to high performance connecting rods,
pistons etc. and even limited slip differentials and fuel injection
! This made the Cortina Lotus an excellent choice as a serious
car for competition drivers like Britain's Roger Clarke.
August
1967 saw the introduction of the revised Kent engine known
as the "cross-flow", so named because of the "bowl-in-piston"
design ( BIP ) that moved the combustion chamber from the
traditional cylinder-head placement to the top of the piston,
thus producing a flat cylinder-head design incorporating larger
valve dimensions and allowing inlet and exhaust valves to
be positioned at either side of the head - thus the term "cross-flow".
This greatly improved the engines "breathing" characteristics
and increased both bhp ( horsepower) and torque as well as
enhanced acceleration, top speed and fuel consumption. These
new engines were offered in 1297.4 and 1598.8cc capacities.
The
new engine configuration was followed in September with the
introduction of probably the best remembered member of the MkII
family, the 1600E ( Executive ).
This
car offered a blend of performance and trim levels that set
it apart from all other cars in it's class. Lowered suspension
was the same as the sporty Cortina Lotus model, whilst it's
power came from the excellent GT, offering the same 1598cc cross-flow
kent engine with it's twin-choke Weber down-draught carburettor,
four branch manifold and superb, slick and precise gearchange
via a three-rail, close ratio gearbox. The exterior sported
attractive chrome and black "Rostyle" wheels, a distinct black
radiator grille which incorporated twin driving lamps and attractive
coachwork lines. The interior boasted the same dash-top auxiliary
dial pod as the GT and Lotus models but was capped with a polished
wood facia. Aluminium sports steering wheel, leather gearshift
gaiter, reclining bucket seats and wooden door capping completed
the interior. 58,852 1600E's where produced between September
'67 and august 1970 and of these, only some 2749 two door variants
were produced, primarily for export.
October
1967 saw amendments to Deluxe and Lotus interiors. October 1968
brought a range-wide utilisation of the remote control gearlever.
November
1968 heralded changes to the 1600E's interior with new, improved
bucket seats front and rear similar to that of the new Ford
Capri. Gone was the dash-top instrument pod of earlier 1600E/GT
models as the auxiliary gauges now found a new home within the
dashboard itself. The centre console was redesigned and the
locker between the front seats of the Series 1 cars was lost
to accommodate the repositioning of the hand-brake from the
under-dash "umbrella" style hand-brake of the earlier model,
to that of the floor mounted alternative of the November '68
revision.
The
Cortina Twin Cam ceased production in July 1970 and the last
1600E came off the production line in the August of the same
year. Cortina MkII production itself ended in September 1970
to make way for the all-new "coke bottle" styled MkIII.
