The Art of Racing in the Rain

The Ford Cortina. The car your Dad’s dad probably had in the ’60s. But this isn’t just any Cortina. This is the Cortina Grandad really wanted, the Lotus Cortina. Powered by a Colin Chapman fettled version of the Ford Kent, 1.6 litre four-cylinder these cars pumped out a healthy 105bhp and mated to a close-ratio gearbox from the Lotus Elan these things went like stink. Factor in the Lotus method of adding lightness with alloy panels for the doors, bonnet and boot lid, these cars were sports saloon royalty. There were tonnes of other modifications made to the base Cortina to make it a proper Lotus Cortina from the small mods of moving the battery to the boot for better weight distribution, to custom brakes from Girling (fitted to the Cortina GE but minus the servo), but by far and away the best change from humdrum saloon to race car for the road was the Lotus factory colour, white with the green stripe. Ford built some for racing in red, and one customer had his with a blue stripe due to superstitions about the green? Odd.

The example seen here is sliding around in the pouring rain at the Castle Combe Autumn Classic in the Pre '66 Touring Car Race.