Potent at 60

We tend to make a lot out of automotive anniversaries, which is why I’ve been surprised that last month’s 60^thanniversary of the Lotus Cortina, slipped by with nary a nod. It was in January 1963 that the Lotus Cortina, ostensibly a homologation special for Group 2 saloon car racing, was first introduced to the press.

Interestingly, the Lotus Cortina was the brainchild of then-newly hired Ford UK public relations director Walter Hayes. Ford was on its early ’60s “Total Performance” kick and the UK arm of the company had basically zilch that fit the bill. Desperate for something to tout, Hayes, who prior to taking the job with Ford was a newspaper editor, decided he’d enlist the aid of a bright young lad who had occasionally written for him… that lad, of course, being one Colin Chapman. Hayes pitched the idea to Chapman that Lotus could take Ford’s new, but decidedly staid, Consul Cortina sedan, and hot it up with the twin-cam Ford engine that Chapman had been developing for the Lotus 23 with the help of Keith Duckworth. Originally, Chapman was only supposed to convert 1,000 examples to satisfy the homologation requirements, but it proved to be so potent and popular that production went on for three years and produced a total of 7,399 examples across two model generations.

In many respects, the Lotus Cortina became one of the first modern “sleepers”, outwardly pedestrian-looking sedans that hid giant-killing performance under their skin. I was fortunate enough to test drive one a few years ago and I can certainly attest to the car’s remarkable potency (I’ve featured my Cortina Profile, below in the archive articles section, if you’d like to read more).

In fact, even 60 years on, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a faster, more responsive, normally-aspirated 1600-cc sedan than the Lotus Cortina. And, really, how many 60-year olds can claim to being just as potent as they were in their youth?