10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT... THE FORD CORTINAS

The Cortina was probably the Ford which really transformed the fortunes of the British company, for it stayed in production for 20 years and more than 4.4 million of them were built. Not only that, but it underpinned the fortunes of the modernised Dagenham factory, and it helped to make the Kent crossflow engine (and of course the Lotus-Cortina power unit) famous in their own right.

When the new Cortina was conceived in 1960, Ford UK was selling only two model ranges – the small Anglia/Prefect types, and the much larger Consul/Zephyr range. Admittedly there were plans to fill some of that gap with a still-secret Classic saloon, but otherwise there was a yawning gap which was being plundered by rivals like BMC (Austin and Morris in particular), Hillman and Vauxhall.

So Ford took the Brave Pill, firstly investing heavily in a new PTA (Paint/Trim/ Assembly) plant, and also a versatile new engine (what became the famous Kent crossflow power unit) while