Ford Cortina (United Kingdom, 1970-1976)

Ford of Britain started developing a substitute for the Mk2 Cortina by the end of the 1960’s. The third generation Ford Cortina was finally unveiled in October 1970 at the London Motor Show. This model became once again Britain’s most popular car from 1972 onwards.

More trim levels and engine options were made available this time, when compared to the previous Cortina generations. Standard/Base, L (Luxury), XL (Xtra Luxury), GT and GXL (Grand Xtra Luxury) were the available trim levels for the Mk3 Cortina. When Ford of Britain stopped producing the Mk3 and replaced it with the 4th generation model, 1.126.559 copies of the 3rd generation Cortina had been built.

The Mk3 Ford Cortina’s front-mounted engine was available in three capacity levels: 1.3, 1.6 and 2.0 litres. The South African market’s Cortinas also received a 3.0-liter V6 engine, while the Australian cars had 3.3- and 4.1-liter engines available.

This rear-wheel drive model works with a standard 4-speed manual transmission.

(no data)   Platform (no data)   Suspension Double A-arm front suspension and coil springs all round.   Steering (no data)   Brakes Front disc brakes and rear drums.

The Mk3 Ford Cortina is widely famous for its ‘coke bottle’ style bodywork, which was available in the form of a sedan (2 or 4 doors), a wagon (5 doors) and also as a 2-door convertible by conversion. For this generation, there was also a 2-door pickup Ford Cortina on hand. When compared to the previous Mk2 model, which was somewhat boxy, the 3rd generation Cortina model looked a bit larger, although it was only little bit (4 inches) wider, and less square-angled.