This is a 1965 Ford Cortina GT, but under the skin it\u2019s been significantly modified, it\u2019s now powered by a 347 V8 mated to a 6-speed manual box, sending power back to the rear wheels.<\/strong><\/p>\n This car rides on independent front and rear suspension, it has four wheel disc brakes, upgraded wheels and tires, a custom interior with a roll cage and black bucket seats, and that 347 V8 is likely producing at least 400 bhp and 400+ lb ft of torque \u2013 just slightly more than the 78 bhp managed by the original four-cylinder unit.<\/p>\n The very first Ford Cortina went on sale in Britain on the 20th of September 1962, a few weeks ahead of that October\u2019s London Motor Show. The car was deliberately conventional, deliberately cheap, and deliberately roomy inside, and it arrived at \u00a3639 0s 3d including purchase tax for the base two-door saloon. An absolute bargain by the standards of the time.<\/p>\n Ford of Britain had aimed the Cortina squarely at buyers of the Morris Oxford Farina and the Vauxhall Victor. Within four years they had built more than a million and outsold almost anything<\/a> that could even be remotely considered competition.<\/p>\n The Cortina was developed because Ford of Britain\u2019s chairman, Sir Patrick Hennessy, refused to accept a car designed elsewhere. Dearborn and Ford of Germany had been developing a front-wheel-drive compact under the codename Cardinal, and Ford of Britain had not been consulted on it. Hackles were raised as a result.<\/p>\n Hennessy handed the job of building a cheaper, better rival to product planning chief Terence Beckett and Fred Hart, Executive Engineer for light cars. In a jab at the German program, the project was named Archbishop. Cardinals do not exist in the Anglican church, but Archbishops do, and they sit near the very top of the hierarchy.<\/p>\n Beckett later said the car took 21 months from full-size clay model to Job One, which he claimed was an industry record, and it does appear that he was right. The brief called for a curb weight under 1,700 lbs, and the production car landed close to it. Perhaps even more amazingly, it also came in under budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n The styling of the Cortina was led by Roy Brown Jr., the American designer responsible for the Edsel, who had been posted to Dagenham after that car\u2019s commercial collapse. It may have been a form of corporate punishment, but Brown took it in his stride \u2013 the Cortina was to become one of Ford\u2019s best-sellers, and he would return to the United States in later years and become the Executive Designer of Ford\u2019s prestigious Lincoln Mercury division.<\/p>\n Brown\u2019s Cortina was flat-sided and upright, with tapering flutes along the flanks and round rear lamp clusters that British buyers nicknamed the \u201cBan the Bomb\u201d lights for their resemblance to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) symbol \u2013 better known today as the peace sign.<\/p>\n Underneath, the Cortina\u2019s spec sheet was carefully conservative \u2013 with MacPherson struts up front, a live axle on leaf springs in the back, rear-wheel drive, and a 4-speed all-synchro gearbox. The car was originally going to be called the Consul 225. The name changed late, to Cortina, after the Italian resort of Cortina d\u2019Ampezzo, which had hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics, the name exuded luxury and exclusivity \u2013 and Ford wanted some of that panache for their new economy car.<\/p>\n When the Cortina launched, there was one engine on offer \u2013 a 1,198cc three-bearing pre-crossflow Kent four-pot, enlarged from the Anglia\u2019s 997cc unit, making 48.5 bhp. A four-door saloon version of the car followed in October of 1962 and a five-door estate in March of the next year.<\/p>\n In early 1963 the Cortina Super landed at dealers, with its five-bearing 1,498cc engine, making 60 bhp. The GT followed in April of 1963, and that was the one that really caught the attention of the sporting-minded members of the general public.<\/p>\n The GT\u2019s version of the 1,498cc engine used a hotter camshaft, a larger-port cylinder head, a tubular exhaust manifold and a twin-choke Weber 28\/36 DCD carburetor built under license by Ford \u2013 it was good for 78 bhp at 5,200 rpm. The Cortina GT also got lowered suspension, front disc brakes and a tachometer. Autocar<\/em> magazine\u2019s 1963 test resulted in a 13.9 second dash to 60 mph and 94 mph flat out in fourth. These were solid numbers for a vehicle in this class at the time.<\/p>\n Later in 1964 the facelift usually called the Mk1b arrived, it came with a full-width grille with rectangular indicator and side-light units, front discs standard across the range, and Aeroflow through-flow ventilation with extractor vents in the rear pillars.<\/p>\n Ford had planned on selling at least 100,000 Cortinas a year. These projections proved far too conservative. The company sold more than 260,000 in 1963, its first full year. Total Mk1 production was over a million units, 1,013,391 to be exact, made up of 894,085 saloons, 116,005 estates and 3,301 Lotus Cortinas. Cortinas were built in the Dagenham factory and some were built up from kit assembly plants overseas.<\/p>\n![\"Ford](\"https:\/\/silodrome.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Ford-Cortina-Vintage-Ad.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe very first Ford Cortina went on sale in Britain on the 20th of September 1962, a few weeks ahead of that October\u2019s London Motor Show. The car was deliberately conventional, deliberately cheap, and deliberately roomy inside, and it arrived at \u00a3639 0s 3d including purchase tax for the base two-door saloon. An absolute bargain by the standards of the time. Image courtesy of Ford UK.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFast Facts: A 1965 Ford Cortina GT Sleeper<\/h2>\n
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History Speedrun: The First-Generation Ford Cortina<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nBrown\u2019s Cortina was flat-sided and upright, with tapering flutes along the flanks and round rear lamp clusters that British buyers nicknamed the \u201cBan the Bomb\u201d lights for their resemblance to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) symbol \u2013 better known today as the peace sign. Image courtesy of Ford UK.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nProject Archbishop<\/h2>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nThe styling of the Cortina was led by Roy Brown Jr., the American designer responsible for the Edsel, who had been posted to Dagenham after that car\u2019s commercial collapse. Image courtesy of Ford UK.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nFrom 1,198cc To The GT<\/h2>\n
The Cortina\u2019s Seven Figure Sales Numbers<\/h2>\n