1966 Lotus Cortina MKI Coupe

The Lotus Cortina by Ford of Dagenham, in England was a very successful high-performance automobile. The two-door Ford Cortina GT had proven itself in rallies and circuit racing when Ford executive Walter Hayes approached Colin Chapman to help produce a world-beating racing saloon. The pan called for Lotus to assemble 1000 cars to homologate the model for FIA Group 2 racing.

Chapman commissioned engineer Harry Mundy to design a twin-overhead camshaft cylinder head to top the Ford 1500 Kent engine. Mundy had previously helped design the Formula 1 World Championship-winning Coventry Climax engines. Cosworth Engineering helped develop and fine-tune these engines, while the Ford 4-speed gearbox as specified for the Lotus Elan was adopted for the Cortina program. The Ford Cortina suspension received significant revisions by Colin Chapman, changing the spring and damper rates, reducing the ride height, and utilizing coil springs at the rear. The body shell was lightened with aluminum skins in the doors, hood and trunk lid. Aluminum was also adopted for the clutch housing, remote gearshift extension and differential case. The standard full-width front bumper was replaced by quarter bumpers. Lotus badges were added externally while the interior featured bucket front seats, pistol-grip handbrake and a wood-rim alloy-spoked steering wheel.

Production began in February of 1963 and homologation was achieved in September of 1963 despite production not yet having reached the FIA's 1,000 minimum.

Legendary names who raced the Cortina included Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart, Vic Elford, Jack Sears, Sir John Whitmore, and Jacky Ickx. Jim Clark – multiple F1 World Champion and Indy 500 winner, also won the 1964 British Saloon Car Championship in his works version.

In 1965, the Lotus Cortina was updated, replacing the leaf springs in favor of coil-springs at the rear. The engines were tuned by 1962 F1 World Champion constructor BRM. By the end of production late in 1966 it is believed that some 2894 Lotus Cortinas had been built, virtually all finished in Ermine White with Sherwood Green body band and flash. In 1967 a Lotus Cortina Mark II followed, assembled by Ford not Lotus, and therefore not allocated a Lotus type number.

This Cortina
This Lotus Cortina was purchased new by Stan Hallinan from Grappone Ford, of Concord, New Hampshire, where incidentally he worked at the time. The date of his purchase was recorded as November 22nd, 1968. Over the next few summers, he accumulated just over 6,000 miles before the Cortina was parked and carefully stored for the next four decades.

This is a very original, untouched example.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2013