Discover Top Posts Tagged with #lotuscortina

The more famous #LotusCortina is the original - 1963’s Mk1, but there were two. Different and worthy in other ways, the Mk2 was more of an in-house creation and meant to be easier to live with for non-racers. It’s overshadowed by the earlier car’s huge competition success but the Mk2 actually sold better. Although a Lotus twin-cam was still at the heart of the car, the Mk2 was mostly the work of Ford of England’s competitions department at Boreham, run by Henry Taylor. The Mk1 was a legend in its own time, dominating British and European touring car racing in 1964 and still being very competitive in 1965 and 1966 - but it wasn’t always so easy to live with as a car you drove every day. The early cars had direct input from Colin Chapman and his team at Lotus, but like Lotuses, they could be fragile. Owners and Dealers alike complained about various breakages, and Ford gradually rationalized the car to make it easier for non-racers to live with - eliminating the alloy pieces (body and mechanical) and eventually the trick rear suspension. With Lotus busy creating a new factory and new cars, it was mostly Boreham’s rally men that altered the Mk1 into a more reliable car, so they also contributed to the Mk1 legend. The Mk2 Cortina, designed under Roy Haynes, was essentially more of the formula that had worked so well for the Mk1, just with a big (and very American) styling update. Led by the success of the Mustang, Ford felt that a more basic version of the car would be easier and cheaper to produce (and could be built at Dagenham/Halewood), but only retain its cred if real performance options were available. Even the green stripe would be optional. Ford dispatched early 2-door shells to Boreham in April of ‘66 to create the package. Led by Taylor (himself a mk1 racer) and engineer Bill Meade, they were to keep the Lotus as close to the Cortina GT as possible but develop a range of performance bits that could make it as wild as the mk1 for those who wanted. As a result, the basic mk2 was close to the Cortina GT aside from an altered suspension and the Lotus motor, but the formula that worked very well in attracting real racers as well as those who only dabbled. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEUnVZBFmgN/?igshid=111r43aldfixi

#lotuscortina

Chrome as far as the eye can see. #goodwoodrevival #2019goodwoodrevival #lotuscortina #ford #lotus #cortina #ford #cortina #classiccars (at Goodwood Motor Circuit) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2n2_CclfGM/?igshid=1l8b6ds818emh

#goodwoodrevival #2019goodwoodrevival #lotuscortina #ford #lotus #cortina #classiccars