Long before ST-badged versions of the Focus and Fiesta, Ford’s high performance models were tuned by a far more illustrious name, that of Lotus. The famous Lotus-tuned Cortina will forever have a special place in hearts of Ford aficionados. This two-door model with its famous green stripe down the flank is a much sought after rarity today, making the price when new (approx R2 600 fully imported) seem like a relative bargain; a 1965 model was recently seen for sale online for R399 000!++
As part of a marketing exercise, Ford SA brought over their international demonstrator, built to celebrate success in international saloon car racing, and allowed Car test it. The model featured in our January 1968 issue is even more of a rarity as it was the BRM rally-spec model, developing 126 bhp, (94 kW), affording the car a zero-to-100 km/h time of 9,9 seconds. A top speed of over 170 km/h was pretty impressive considering the era.
