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Ford Lotus Cortina Lightweight Breathable Car Cover
The Ford Lotus Cortina is something of a legendary icon; it's white body and green stripe could be seen gracing our roads since it was first released and it has become a favourite with performance enthusiasts and classic car lovers. The origins of the Ford Lotus Cortina can be traced to 1961 when Lotus developed a twin-cam version of the Ford Kent engine that they planned to use in some of their vehicles including the upcoming Elan. Ford queried Lotus, asking if this new engine could be fitted to a standard Cortina for test purposes. This marriage of companies and ideas proved so successful that an all new much faster version of the Cortina was born. The two companies agreed that Ford would provide body shells for the new Cortina along with selling the car and arranging all of the marketing, Lotus would provide their engineering expertise and undertake all mechanical changes and styling tweaks on the new vehicle. The new Mk1 Ford Lotus Cortina was almost completely different to the standard model of the vehicle, it featured lowered and much stiffer suspension, new lighter body panels made of exotic alloys, a new gearbox set up for racing, the new engine, and a completely restyled interior that featured essentials only. Various things on the Ford Lotus Cortina were also moved around for weight distribution such as the battery which was moved into the boot of the vehicle.
A new version of the Ford Lotus Cortina was needed after it was felt that the old model had reached the natural end of it's service life. This new vehicle was first unveiled in 1967 and was the result of a large number of changes by both Ford and Lotus. Since production of the original Mk1 Cortina was slow Ford decided to move production from Lotus to their own Dagenham plant so it could be produced alongside existing Cortinas allowing for more commonality and speedier production. Since more time was taken in production the new version of the Cortina had far less teething problems than the Mk1, it was also available in left hand drive from the outset allowing it to explore new markets and be sold in new regions. From an aesthetic point of view little separated the Ford Lotus Cortina Mk2 from the Mk1, a new grille, new wheels and new markings were the only noticeable differences. Under the bonnet a new engine was included, this powerplant was more powerful and reliable and as such the gearbox was changed. The interior of the Mk2 Ford Lotus Cortina departed from convention the most; it was identical to the standard Cortina GT layout thanks to them sharing the same production line.
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