1974 Ford TC Cortina XLE Sedan

Description

Ford's third generation Cortina series was introduced in 1970 and was very much a world car, built in Britain, Germany (where it was marketed as the Taunus), Australia and elsewhere. The Detroit-influenced 'coke bottle' styling was in keeping with the fashion of the day and showed a strong family connection with the local XA Falcon range. With a wider range of trim levels, engines and transmissions than ever before, the Cortina was soon rushing out the showroom door and ultimately became Ford's - and Great Britain's - best selling car of the 1970s. Most Cortina's were sold with either Kent or Pinto four-cylinder engines but Australia uniquely had two sixes on offer, either the 3.3-litre or larger 4.1-litre, which turned the staid family sedan into something of a road burner and took the fight to Holden's new Torana. Sold as the TC Cortina in Antipodean markets, the Ford was available in three trim levels here, namely the base L, XL and XLE version. The luxurious XLE came with a vinyl roof as standard, along with special chrome dress rims and bumper overriders and more interior equipment. Six-cylinder Cortinas were distinguished externally by quad headlamps and a different bonnet design with distinctive 'power bulge', while under the skin the chassis was beefed up to cope with the additional power, while the larger engine also necessitated changes to the radiator, mounts and firewall. Something of an overlooked classic at present, few Mark 3 Cortinas survive and those that do are often sorely neglected, making the car offered here a rare find indeed.