GTP Cool Wall: 1963-1966 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1

1963-1966 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1


  • Total voters
    91
  • Poll closed .
4,209
United States
Wasilla, AK
1963-1966 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1 nominated by SVT Cobra GT

1965%20Lotus%20Cortina%20-%20frontR.jpg

Stats:
Production: 1963-1966
Style: 2-door coupe
95 ci/1,557 cc naturally aspirated DOHC inline 4 (rated 105 HP & ??? lb-ft)
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Layout: Front-engine, Rear-drive
Related: Ford Cortina Mk1​

For some reason I want to like this car, but it goes from 0-60 in about 13.6 seconds. It just plain needs more horsepower.
 
Sub-zero.

The epitome of 'David' (along with the Mini) in the 'David v.s. Goliath' British Saloon Car Championship battles of the 1960s.
 
Sounds awesome, was successful in touring car racing (And then everyone else came out to play.), '60's, and Jim Clark even raced one.

Sub-Zero

@White & Nerdy There were 2 engines available, a "blue" engine had 105 HP, the "red" had 140 HP and will get the car to 60 MPH in 9.2 seconds. Not too shabby considering when this car was new.
 
Also, it could go round corners, hence its "David & Goliath" ability to "beat" (although who exactly had won in old Saloon car races had a tendency to be rather unclear) its overweight American competition. The Mini was far, far more awesome in this regard, however.

Still, Sub Zero.
 
Sub-Zero. One of the best sports sedans of the 60's and once driven the legend Jim Clark in the BTCC. A wonderful machine.
 
Extremely cool, but only because of its ability to perform well in races. If I saw one on the street, I'd wonder what the funny little car was for a moment and then go on my way and forget about it.

Bopop4, I love that video; it reminds me of when I first got into Gran Turismo.
 
Easily a solid cool. Fun to watch them properly mix it up with far more powerful competition, but it's a cool little saloon in its own right.
 
Subzero I hold it in the same regard I hold many cool little sedans, Jim Clark drove it -then arguably the greatest F1 driver drove a lot of things- so that's one mark. One of my favorite automotive fabricators//mechanics Aaron Kaufman from fast and loud loved the one they sold, and almost wanted to buy it.

It's a rare car and if I couldn't have a Escort Mk1 or Mk 2, I'd go looking for one of these.
 
Cool.

One of the great British performance cars, but doesn't shout about it. To the lay person it just looks like a cool old car, to the car enthusiast there's all the history, engineering and the cool people who used to drive it.
 
So what are we voting on here, the race version or the standard car, there is no pic in the OP

Race version is a sub-zero in my book.
 
1963-1966 Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1 nominated by SVT Cobra GT

1965%20Lotus%20Cortina%20-%20frontR.jpg

Stats:
Production: 1963-1966
Style: 2-door coupe
95 ci/1,557 cc naturally aspirated DOHC inline 4 (rated 105 HP & ??? lb-ft)
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Layout: Front-engine, Rear-drive
Related: Ford Cortina Mk1​

For some reason I want to like this car, but it goes from 0-60 in about 13.6 seconds. It just plain needs more horsepower.
Like what Famine said, it doesn't need more horsepower. That would be like making a version of the standard Bugatti Veyron with 2000hp. Don't need to. Also take into a count that this is 1963-1966, for that time period thats heaps. It's 2013 and we think about 250hp in a hot hatch is great.

Also the original Mini, also from the same time period that had even less and went from 0-60 in 13 seconds there or there abouts. That doesn't make it less of a desirable classic.

Ford Lotus Cortina Mk1 - Really cool!
 
One of the cars that helped bring touring car racing into the limelight, and also proved that big power isn't everything. Very, very cool.
 
Slow... :rolleyes:

Sure, by modern standards it's no Veyron, but we're not judging this by modern standards. We're judging this by the standards of 50 years ago, and back then this thing was bloomin' fast, to say the least. And try making anything resembling a youtube search and you'll pretty quickly find plenty of videos of these things holding their own against Mustangs and the like with engines twice the size...

Oh yeah. Another thing you'll find if you do some research is that these days, with modern fuel, lubricants, servicing etc., historic racers (as in, the sort of people who are likely to own a Lotus Cortina these days) will typically find themselves getting something more like 180PS out of a Lotus Cortina, which is far more than you quoted and an awful lot in a car which weighs quite a bit less than a tonne.
 
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