It wasn’t until six months after the demise of the Mk1 Lotus Cortina that the Mk2 version appeared, but on its February 1967 launch it was obvious that the new generation model was worth the wait.
Granted, the Mk2 wasn’t as specialised as its predecessor, being devoid of the earlier Mk1’s aluminium panels, lightweight transmission casing and trick rear axle set-up, but what it lacked in exclusivity it more than made up for in terms of reliability and usability.
Ford had already fettled the last of the Mk1s to be more durable and it went even further with the Mk2, bringing production in-house at its Dagenham manufacturing facility in order to significantly boost build quality.
Much of the Lotus Cortina’s new-found robustness and user-friendly nature was down to it being based on the lesser, more normal GT, but there was nothing run-of-the-mill about its performance.
As standard, it came with the
