1966, Car spotting: Antwerp, Frankrijklei

Left to right:

Unidentified van, unidentified car, Volkswagen 1200 (Beetle), Volvo Amazon, Ford Cortina Mk I, Opel Rekord A, unidentified car probably Opel Kadett A, Opel Rekord P2, unidentified small car, Fiat 1300, Citroën 2CV, Ford Anglia Sportsman (123E), Volkswagen 1200 (Beetle), BMW 700, Opel Rekord P2, Citroën 2CV.

1967, Car Spotting: Maastricht

First row (left, next to the man with the hat):

Unidentified car, probably Ford Cortina Mk II.

Second row, left to right: 

Citroën Ami 6, Škoda 1000 MB, Ford Taunus Transit (FK 1000/1250), NSU Prinz 4, Vauxhall FB (Victor) VX4/90, Volvo P130 Amazon, Mercedes-Benz W120/121 (Ponton), Triumph Vitesse convertible.

Third row, left to right: 

Ford Taunus P3 17M Turnier ("Badewannetaunus”), Fiat 1300/1500, Volkswagen Type 1 1200/1300 (Beetle), Ford Cortina Mk Ia, BMW 2000 Neue Klasse (Typ 120), Ford Cortina Mk Ib, Volkswagen T1 (Type 2), Volkswagen T1 (Type 2), Volkswagen T1 (Type 2).

Fourth row (street): 

Austin/Morris Mini (BMC Mini Mark I), Ford Taunus P4 12M, unidentified car probably Opel.

1964, Car Spotting, Belgium

Bottom to top

First row left to right
Ford Galaxie (1960 model), Mercedes-Benz W110, Opel Rekord A, Volkswagen 1200 (Beetle).

Second row left to right
Ford Taunus P4, Škoda Octavia, Volvo 122 (Amazon), Land Rover Series II.

Third row left to right
Vauxhall Victor FB, Opel Rekord P II, Škoda 1000 MB, Ford Anglia 105E Van, Mercedes-Benz W110.

Fourth row left to right
Volkswagen 1200 (Beetle), Vauxhall Velox EIPV, Volkswagen 1500 (Type 3, Notchback), Peugeot 403, Volkswagen 1200 (Beetle).

Fifth row left to right
BMW 700, Volvo 122 (Amazon), Ford Cortina Mk I, Ford Classic, Ford Galaxie (1963 model), Volkswagen Karmann Ghia.

Sixth row left to right
Ford Anglia 105E, Ford Cortina Mk I, Mercedes-Benz W110, Volkswagen 1200 (Beetle), Simca 1300/1500, Volvo PV544.

Seventh row left to right
Volkswagen 1200 (Beetle), Mercedes-Benz W111, Peugeot 404, Volkswagen 1500 (Type 3, Variant), Mercedes-Benz W120, unknown Van probably Dodge Panel Van, Van probably Ford Taunus Transit.

Eight row left to right
Van probably Renault Goélette, Fiat 600, Opel Kapitän, Triumph Herald, Ford Taunus G13 AL (Seitenstreifentaunus), Citroën 2CV.

Ninth row left to right
Renault Dauphine, Van probably Mercedes-Benz L 319, Volkswagen 1200 (Beetle).

Tenth row left to right
Van Citroën Type H, unknown truck probably Bedford, Daf truck (typ ?), unknown “Trading” truck.

1962, Cars: Ford Cortina MK I

The MkI Ford Cortina was launched by Ford of England in September 1962. At first it was known as the 'Consul Cortina', from 1964 onwards the Consul name was dropped. The Cortina was named after the Italian winter resort 'Cortina di Ampezzo', where the 1956 Winter Olympics were held.

In the late 1950's, Ford had the Anglia 105E at one end of the market, and the MkII Consul, Zephyr, Zodiac range at the other. The market in between was filled up with cars like the Vauxhall Victor, the Hillman Minx, and and the Austin A55 Cambridge. Ford began work on a car for this market segment, and the Ford Classic made its debut in 1961. It looked like an oversized Anglia and turned out to be a quite expensive car to produce. There was still room left for another cheaper, simpler model.

The goal for the Cortina was to keep production costs low, whilst giving the best possible performance and fuel economy. This meant that planned features like an independent rear suspension were shelved. To further minimise production costs, but also due to limited development time, mechanical components from other Fords were used. Styling was completed in 9 months, finalised by the end of 1959.

The first Cortinas were all fitted with an engine based on the 1000 cc Kent engine that first appeared in the Anglia, stroked up to 1200 cc (1198 cc). In January 1963 a 1500 cc (1498 cc) engine became an option.

Cortinas were firstly available in standard or Deluxe form, with only two-doors available, but four-doors became available in October 1962. The standard cars had a simple painted grille and painted headlamp surrounds. In January 1963 followed the introduction of a Super Deluxe, in two and four-door models, which had the 1500 cc engine as standard equipment. The Lotus-Cortina also appeared in early 1963. An estate model was released in March 1963. A GT model was released in April 1963.

The MkI was replaced by the MkII model in September 1966. Total MkI production was 1,010,090 units.

Ford Consul Cortina Standard 1962

Ford Consul Cortina Super Deluxe 1963

Ford Cortina GT 1965

Ford Cortina GT 1965

Ford Consul Lotus Cortina 1963

Brochure Ford Consul Cortina 1963 (Dutch)

Brochure Ford Cortina 1965