Ford Lotus Cortina FIA

THE MODEL

• Introduced in 1963, the first generation of Ford Lotus Cortina (the Mk1) was a collaboration between Ford and Lotus, aimed at producing a high-performance version of Ford’s popular Cortina model.
• The Lotus Cortina was largely based on the standard Ford Cortina, but with several significant modifications made by Lotus, including a lightweight body, a tuned engine, and improved suspension.
• The suspension changes, in particular, were quite extensive: the front received shorter struts and forged track control arms, while the rear was even more radical, with vertical coil spring/dampers replacing the standard leaf springs and two trailing arms with an A- Frame (which connected to the differential housing and brackets near the trailing arm pivots) sorting out axle location.
• Weight was reduced significantly through the use of lightweight alloy panels for the doors, bonnet and boot, and further still through lightweight casings in the gearbox and differential.
  • Note: after ~June 1965, the fragile A-Frame suspension and ligtweight gearbox/diff casings were replaced with more robust and reliable components from Ford.
• Power was supplied by a 1557cc twin-cam inline-4 engine based on the Ford Kent 116E unit and heavily developed by Harry Mundy and Keith Duckworth. Accompanied by twin SU carburetors, the ‘Twin-Cam’ produced an hearty ~105bhp, which when paired with the close-ratio gearbox from the Lotus Elan, resulted in some impressive performance figures.
• In 1966, the Mk1 Ford Lotus Cortina was replaced by the Mk2, which featured a more refined body and updated engine options. Despite this, the Mk1 remains highly sought-after, prized for its performance, handling, and timeless styling.
• Overall, the Ford Lotus Cortina was a major success for both Ford and Lotus, and it played a significant role in establishing both companies as leaders in the performance car market.

COMPETITION SUCCESS

• Unsurprisingly, the same characteristics that made the Lotus Cortina an absolute blast along British B-roads, also made it a great foundation upon which to develop a racing car.
• Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, the Lotus Cortina dominated saloon and touring car championships, and racked up a number of significant results in rallying – here are just a few:
  • 1964 British Saloon Car Championship (BSCC) – Jim Clark – 1st
    
  • 1965 European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) – Sir John Whitmore – 1st
    
  • 1966 RAC Rally – Bengt Söderström / Gunnar Palm
    
• Overall, the Ford Lotus Cortina was one of the most successful touring cars of its era, with a long list of victories and podium finishes in major motorsport events around the world. These successes helped establish the car’s reputation as a true racing icon and cemented its place in motorsport history.

THIS CAR

• This particular example began life as a road car but was converted into a racer following its acquisition by David Ramsbotham, a former Aston Martin finance director, in 1987.
• Issued with FIA papers two years later, it ran in the German Historic Touring Car Championship and at a variety of UK events between 1990 and 1994.
• Passing to Roger Bennington of the Stratton Motor Company during 1999, the car was driven by Jack Sears as the pace car for the Heritage GT Series (part of the British Touring Car Championship TOCA Tour) at Snetterton in 2001.
• Acquiring the car later that same year, Martin Angle commissioned the Stratton Motor Company to rework it to a higher / more competitive racing specification.
• Conforming to FIA Appendix K specification and granted updated FIA papers accordingly, the two-door saloon was campaigned with assistance from Roger Bennington and the late Jim Morgan (of JTM Racing Services) in the Top Hat and HSCC pre-1965 Touring car events plus the AMOC Lotus Roadsports Series.
• Piloted by Martin Angle, his two sons Barnaby and Hugh, and the legendary Jackie Oliver, the car recorded a number of class wins at venues such as Oulton Park, Silverstone, Snetterton, Mallory Park and Chimay, Belgium.
• It also narrowly missed out on a class win at Spa and qualified on the front row in Pau, France during 2004 (though, Martin Angle and Jackie Oliver were forced to retire from the race).
• Legends Automotive Ltd of Gloucestershire subsequently took over the Ford and had its twin-cam engine and four-speed manual gearbox thoroughly overhauled by Connaught in April 2005.
• Sold to Fred Philips the following month, this car set the fastest lap at the Brands Hatch Historic Super Prix, July 23rd-24th 2005, only to finish mid-field.
• Contesting the Silverstone Classic and Oulton Park Gold Cup later that season, it was shipped to South Africa in early 2006 and took a strong 4th-in-class at the Springbok Revival Meeting.
• Suffering a gearbox failure shortly afterwards, the car underwent repairs by V.A. Motorsport of Holland before returning to South Africa for the 2007 season during which it entered the Springbok Revival Meeting and Kyalami 9-Hour Revival (see video below, featuring this car):
  
• The car’s next owner had it maintained and prepared by Martin Stretton Racing.
• Other outings at Spa during late 2009 in the U2TC and Top Hat races and proved very competitive, recording two top ten finishes amid a very large entry.
• And then again at the Spa 6 Hours in 2010.
• The received recommissioning works in 2022 courtesy of Hi-Tech Motorsport (see documentation below), which included attention to:
  • Front & Rear Brakes
  • Track Rod Ends
  • Wheel Bearings
  • ‘Engine out’ sump repair with new gaskets
  • Battery relocation in boot
  • Exhaust brackets
  • Suspension Bushes
• What’s more, the twin-cam Holbay engine was fully rebuilt in 2019 (awaiting documentation/invoices), with very minimal run time since.
• HTP papers renewed in 2022 and valid up to 31st Dec 2032