1966 Ford Lotus Cortina

The Lotus Cortina was one of the most effective Q-cars ever sold by Ford. Although the heart of its success was the single-minded determination of Lotus-founder Colin Chapman, to build a fast saloon, using the lightweight Cortina as a starting point was a very clever move indeed. The plan was hatched by Ford of Great Britain's boss Walter Hayes, who approached Chapman with the idea of hitting his engines to 1000 Cortinas, in order for them to meet Group 2 homologation regulations.

Chapman ran with the idea, developing the Cortina in order to fit the brilliant 105bhp 1557cc twin-cam engine and Lotus Elan gearbox under the bonnet. Big changes were also reserved for the all-new coil-spring rear suspension, and bigger, more powerful brakes, but as well as this, the Cortina's shell was further lightened by the fitment of alloy panels for the doors, bonnet, boot, and quarter bumpers. To finish them off, all Lotus-Cortinas were painted white with a green flash down the side. And the end result looked fantastic.

Inside, the Lotus-Cortina received a new centre console, improved seats, and a full set of instrumentation, including tachometer, speedometer, and oil pressure, as well as the usual coolant temperature and fuel level gauges. A wood-rimmed steering wheel was a nice touch.

But, quite simply, fitting the 105bhp twin-cam, as used in the Lotus Elan and Europa into Ford’s lightweight Cortina bodyshell created a saloon car legend overnight. Only the first year’s production Lotus-Cortinas came with aluminium doors, bonnet and bootlid, along with an A-frame for the rear axle location. This is prone to cracking its mounts and was changed for leaf springs in later years, but it's no surprise that the lighter, more fragile cars are far more desirable today.

Clearly, these remain desirable cars to this day, with strong values. Given the kudos of the exploits of Jim Clark on three-wheels in one in saloon car racing, how could the Lotus-Cortina not be a legend? The Lotus engine and gearbox are known quantities and there's plenty of specialist support out there, but genuine parts are tough to find. Fakes and replicas abound and are capable of catching the unwary. But what other seemingly standard looking saloon of its era was capable of delivering such thrills? And it's just as true to this day.