Avengers in Time: 1962, Cars: Ford Taunus 12M (P4)

Sunday, 21 July 2013

1962, Cars: Ford Taunus 12M (P4)

In September 1962 the new Taunus P4 is introduced by Ford of Germany. It was a modern new car that replaced the outdated Ford Taunus 12M P1. The P4 was originally designed for production in North America as the Ford Cardinal. Ford changed its strategy at the last minute and US production was cancelled.

In 1960 a prototype was delivered to Ford in Cologne, the model that emerged from the production two years later would be unchanged.

Ford Taunus 12M two doors (P4) 1962

Ford Taunus 12M four doors (P4) 1962

Ford Taunus 12M coupé (P4) 1962

Ford Taunus 12M station wagon (P4) 1962

The car was available as a front wheel drive two or four-door saloon and a three-door station wagon. In addition Ford Germany also offered a factory built two-door coupé. The car had a new compact V4 engine with 29 kW, 37 kW or 40 kW. The 40 kW version was replaced in the same year by the more powerful 48 kW unit. Ford Germany became one of the trendsetters with the modern V4 engine. The company were able to sell the unit to other smaller European manufacturers. It was used in the Saab 96 and the Matra 530 sports car.