Ford Cortina

1966 Ford Cortina Mark1
Larger version

1970 Ford Cortina Mark2
Larger version

The Ford Cortina was a car sold by Ford of Britain. The Cortina was produced in five generations (Mark I through Mark V) from 1962 until 1982, when it was replaced by the Ford Sierra. From 1970 it was almost identical to the German-market Ford Taunus, which was originally a different car model altogether; this was part of a Ford attempt to unify its European operations. The Cortina was also sold in other right hand drive markets such as the Republic of Ireland where it was assembled locally, as well as Australia (where it had a 4.0 litre engine), New Zealand and South Africa, where it had a 3.0 litre V6. Hyundai in South Korea also assembled the Cortina until the early 1980s.

The Cortina was Ford's mass market medium-size car and sold in enormous numbers, making it ubiquitous on British roads until the 1980s, when it was replaced by the Ford Sierra. In other markets, it was replaced by the Ford Telstar.

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