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| The Good Old Days... |
This is the Ford Lotus Cortina. First produced in 1963 and it's only available in White with Sherwood Green stripe. It started out in life as a Mk1 Ford Cortina but Lotus performed some modifications on it, which includes the steering, suspension, 1500cc twin-cam engine, and a speedo that reads up to 140mph. This Lotus-tuned 1500cc engine produces 105HP, which is twice the power of the normal Ford Cortina. 0-60mph time of 10 seconds and a top speed of 108mph, meaning that the needle won't reach up to the limit. Despite that, this Lotus engine that give life to the modified Ford Cortina still harbors a spirit that best kept for Lotus.Cars. Not only power enhancements are involved but weight loss is also a part of the Lotus Cortina courtesy of aluminum doors and aluminum hood, 20kg less than the normal Ford Cortina but remember, this is much lighter than its rivals. Think about it, if you put it with a drag race against the Austin Healey 3000 Mk III, sorry to say that the Cortina will kick the Healey because it's lighter than the Austin Healey.
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| Scenic Route with the Cortina. How lovely... |
Most car magazines praised the Lotus Cortina due to its striking performance and with the gearbox derived from the Lotus Elan, rumor has it that it can hit nearly 50mph in first gear and 70 in 2nd gear. Those Forza faithfuls who tried the Cortina really liked its gearbox because of its accuracy and the handling that is somewhat not so bad. It's not so skittish, it's not so unstable, it's as delicate as a piano concerto. In the race between power and size, this Lotus Cortina is not to shabby on that situation.
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| An icon steps in the Top Gear Track |
For some delicious tidbits, the Cortina was heavily involved in motorsports. It was homologated to 1000 units and its race debut was in the Oulton Park Gold Cuo where it finished 3rd and 4th. In 1964, the Lotus Cortina led Jim Clark won the British Saloon Car Championship. That's not all, racers Jackie Stewart and Mike Beckwith became victors of the Marlboro 12-hour race. A 1-2 victory by Alan Mann Racing at the Motor 6 hour International Touring Car Race at Brands Hatch is just another example of Lotus Cortina-related wins.
There are so many stories involved about the Lotus Cortina taking part in motorsports, even rallying, but with this, this has the best racing pedigree than you can possibly imagine. A Ford Cortina retooled by Lotus, this is just something we admire and we love to call it a legend.