lotus cortina mk1 - taylor and crawley · ford supplied lotus with 2 door cortina shells and lotus...
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LOTUS CORTINA MK1
LOTUS CORTINA
In 1961 Lotus, not being able to find a readily available engine to suit their
new range of cars, started to design what was to become the immortal Twin
Cam.
Harry Mundy, designer of the Coventry Climax engines, was commissioned to
design a twin cam head and shortly after he started work Ford released the
116E five bearing 1,499cc engine. Mating the new oversquare engine with a
robust bottom-end to the free breathing head produced an instant winner. At
it’s first appearance in a Lotus 23 at the Nurburgring 1,000km Jim Clark led the
race overall, 27 seconds in front at the end of the first lap, for 2 hours until a
leaking exhaust allowed fumes to overcome him. The engine was installed in
the new Lotus 26 Elan and after a handful had been sold the engine was
bored out to 1,558cc to take it closer to the prevailing 1,600cc limit for
International Motor Racing.
At that time the Ford Motor Company had started their world wide “Total
Performance” motorsport drive. Walter Hayes, head of Ford’s public relations
and Vice president of Ford Europe, saw a chance to make the newly
announced Cortina into a championship winning touring car. As Lotus were
already using Fords 116E engine as a base for their twin-cam he suggested it
would be a good idea if Ford bought 1,000 of the completed units and had
Chapman install them in a Lotus designed lightweight racing version of the
Cortina which would then qualify for Group 2 homologation.
.
Ford supplied Lotus with 2 door Cortina shells and Lotus fitted the twin-cam engine,
Elan style close ratio gearbox with light alloy casing and aluminium doors, bonnet
and boot. They also comprehensively re-worked the suspension, front and rear and
moved various items to new locations within the car to improve the weight
distribution.
The resulting Lotus 28 Cortina proved to be a winner straight out of the box. In the
cars first outing at Oulton Park for the Gold Cup the Lotus Cortinas won their class by
a considerable margin and finished 3rd and 4th overall, beating the previously
triumphant 3.8 litre Jaguars and only being bested by the 7 litre Galaxies.
Lotus Cortinas were run for Ford by Team Lotus and Alan Mann Racing in Europe
and won both the British Saloon Car Championship and the European Touring Car
Championship with Jim Clark and Sir John Whitmore at the wheel. The cars were
also successful in many other races and championships worldwide.
Ford supplied Lotus with 2 door Cortina shells and Lotus fitted the twin-cam engine,
Elan style close ratio gearbox with light alloy casing and aluminium doors, bonnet
and boot. They also comprehensively re-worked the suspension, front and rear and
moved various items to new locations within the car to improve the weight
distribution.
The resulting Lotus 28 Cortina proved to be a winner straight out of the box. In the
cars first outing at Oulton Park for the Gold Cup the Lotus Cortinas won their class by
a considerable margin and finished 3rd and 4th overall, beating the previously
triumphant 3.8 litre Jaguars and only being bested by the 7 litre Galaxies.
Lotus Cortinas were run for Ford by Team Lotus and Alan Mann Racing in Europe
and won both the British Saloon Car Championship and the European Touring Car
Championship with Jim Clark and Sir John Whitmore at the wheel. The cars were
also successful in many other races and championships worldwide.
BOB JANES LOTUS CORTINA
Supplied by Ford Australia to reigning Australian Touring Car Champion Bob Jane.
Jane raced the car in 1964 and 1965 proving to be very fast once he’d realised it
should be cornering with the inside front wheel a foot clear of the tarmac.
Obtaining not only class but overall pole positions, fastest laps and victories.
In 1980 the car was bought by one of Bob Jane’s principal opponents from 60s
Touring car Championships Jim McKeown. McKeown had always been impressed
with the way Jane’s Ford Motor Company Lotus Cortina had been able to beat his
own as was overjoyed when Bob Jane confirmed it was indeed his old car. He
prepared the car to the same high standards as those he raced in period and it
was probably the fastest Cortina in historic races for many years.
BOB JANES LOTUS CORTINA RACES
1964:
Templestowe:
New class record on 1st outing
Hume Weir:
Qualified under the lap record
Mallala:
Retired while leading
Sandown:
Led the 6 hour race outright until retiring
1965:
Calder:
4th behind Mustangs
Warwick Farm:
Pole position, 3rd
Longford:
2nd to Sir Gawaine Baillie’s Galaxie
Calder:
1st overall
The car has just had £50,000 pounds spent restoring it to correct FIA spec and has
been re-finished in Bob Jane’s 1964 colours. Complete with freshly built Chris Gilbert
Lotus twin-cam engine and rebuilt gearbox.
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