LOTUS CORTINA MK1 - Taylor and Crawley · Ford supplied Lotus with 2 door Cortina shells and Lotus fitted the twin-cam engine, Elan style close ratio gearbox with light alloy casing

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.