Cortina: The Story of Ford’s Best-Seller

In the 1960s the Cortina was an entirely new type of British car, light yet strong, cheap to buy yet roomy. It established a new class of car - the 'Cortina Class' - and Ford's rivals had to rush to compete. Not only was the Cortina the first, it was the best, too; a fascinating, ever-evolving project around which Ford-Europe's planning always revolved. Here, for the first time in a book, are all the facts, figures, images and legends of the Cortina story. With over 180 colour and black and white photos this is the fascinating story of a incredibly successful car.

Table of Contents:
Introduction & Acknowledgements 4 Chapter 1 The 'Archbishop' project 7 Chapter 2 Cortina I & II - million sellers 22 Chapter 3 Lotus-Cortina - twin-cam performance 47 Chapter 4 The 'works' Cortinas - rallying and racing 62 Chapter 5 Cortina III - the transatlantic approach 97 Chapter 6 Cortina IV - co-ordination with Germany 115 Chapter 7 Cortina V - the final evolution 126 Chapter 8 Today's Cortinas - keeping them on the road 135 Clubs and specialist magazines 139 Appendix I What happened when? 142 Appendix II Engines 144 Appendix III Performance 145 Appendix IV Prices 146 Appendix V Production 147 Appendix VI Specifications 149 Index 156

About the Author :
After a varied career in the automotive industry Graham Robson has gained a worldwide reputation as a motoring historian, and has more than 160 books to his credit. Born in 1936, and educated at Ermysteds Grammar School in Yorkshire, Graham then went on to study Engineering at Oxford University. He joined Jaguar Cars as a graduate trainee, becoming involved in design work on the Mk II, E-Type and Mark X. Beginning as a hobby, he became a rally co-driver, eventually joining the Sunbeam 'works' team in 1961, and took part in rallies up to International level (once with Roger Clark), but stopped rallying by 1968. During this time he joined Standard-Triumph in Coventry, in 1961, as a Development Engineer, mainly on sports car projects. He then ran the re-opened 'works' motorsport department from 1962 to 1965, this being the period of the birth of Spitfire Le Mans cars, TR4, Vitesse, Spitfire and 2000 rally car developments. Graham Robson’s writing began with rally reports for magazines which evolved into a job with Autocar from 1965-1969. He was recruited back to industry at Rootes to run the Product Proving department, then after a brief period in 1972 as technical director of a safety belt company, became an independent motoring writer. Graham has lived 'by the pen' and 'by the voice', not only writing but commentating, presenting and organising events of all types.

Review :
totalkitcar.com, February 2008 UK website ezine and quarterly magazine On its launch, in 1962, the Ford Cortina changed the face of the British motor industry, and by the time the last car rolled off the production line in 1982 more than four million examples had been sold. Even before production stopped, the Cortina had become an icon, with TV programs having been made about it, London's Victoria & Albert Museum organized an exhibition around it, and most of Ford's rivals had developed models to compete with it. More recently the Cortina has starred in the hit BBC1 TV series - 'Life on Mars.' Here is the fully illustrated story of the Cortina, and its closest relations, through twenty years of production and five generations of models and it's a fascinating insight to the behind-the-scenes story and evolution through five marques. Written by expert and former Ford-employee, Graham Robson, this is an excellent and sure-to-be popular book. totalkitcar.com, February 2008 UK website ezine and quarterly magazine On its launch, in 1962, the Ford Cortina changed the face of the British motor industry, and by the time the last car rolled off the production line in 1982 more than four million examples had been sold. Even before production stopped, the Cortina had become an icon, with TV programs having been made about it, London's Victoria & Albert Museum organized an exhibition around it, and most of Ford's rivals had developed models to compete with it. More recently the Cortina has starred in the hit BBC1 TV series - 'Life on Mars.' Here is the fully illustrated story of the Cortina, and its closest relations, through twenty years of production and five generations of models and it's a fascinating insight to the behind-the-scenes story and evolution through five marques. Written by expert and former Ford-employee, Graham Robson, this is an excellent and sure-to-be popular book.