Ford Cortina - More class than your mum

Original FordCortina gallery photograph: Mk1 Racer.

The Mk1 started the Australian Cortina story as a compact, light rear-drive Ford with real motorsport bite. The later Mark 1b brought the wider grille, round instruments, front discs and Aeroflow ventilation. Locally, the GT and GT500 gave the little Cortina a proper competition reputation — including Ian Geoghegan’s 1964 Touring Car Championship win. This is the early car that showed an Australian Cortina could be small, sharp and seriously quick.

• Australian Mark 1b facelift from October 1964.
• GT and GT500 are Australian performance landmarks.
• Individual body, engine and trim details must be confirmed against the car.

Original FordCortina gallery photograph: Mk2 GT.

Australian Mk2 production began in 1967 and gave the Cortina more presence without losing its direct, compact feel. Local 220, 240, 440, GT and L-pack versions tell a story that is not simply the UK Mk2 copied here. The 1969 GT sharpened the look with bonnet anti-glare panels, stripes, driving lights, wider radial tyres, mirrors and split bumperettes. With cross-flow four-cylinder power arriving during the run, the Mk2 became a proper Australian street-and-strip favourite.

• Locally produced from August 1967.
• Australian 220, 240/440, GT and L-pack variants.
• 1969 GT received a distinct local style and equipment package.

Original FordCortina gallery photograph: TC XLE.

The TC took the Cortina into new territory. Australia got L and XL sedans, the first local Cortina wagons, and four-cylinder 1.6 or 2.0 litre choices. Then Ford Australia made the move enthusiasts still talk about: Falcon-derived 200 and 250 sixes. From 1972, the six-cylinder TC brought quad headlights and the bonnet power bulge — an unmistakable local answer to anyone who thought a Cortina had to stay mild.

• Locally built at Broadmeadows.
• L and XL sedans plus the first Australian Cortina wagons.
• Falcon 200 and 250 sixes introduced from September 1972.

Original FordCortina gallery photograph: TD.

The TD refined the Australian six-cylinder formula without sanding off its attitude. A new dash, plastic grille, revised braking and suspension, better ventilation and L, XL or XLE trim gave it a tougher late-seventies identity. The 3.3 and 4.1 litre Falcon sixes remained the headline act, still marked out by quad lights and the power bulge. A TD is more than a facelift — it is one of the clearest examples of Ford Australia turning an overseas platform into something very local.

• Built in the mid-1970s before the TE arrived.
• Available with 3.3 and 4.1 litre Australian Falcon sixes.
• XLE added a higher grade of local trim and equipment.

Original FordCortina gallery photograph: TE Cortina GL.

The TE arrived with the angular Taunus-based shape that made the Cortina look fresh for the late seventies, but the Australian version had its own muscle. Buyers could choose the 2.0 four, a 3.3 crossflow six or the 4.1 six in the flagship Ghia. The big engines demanded local engineering: a taller bonnet, revised front suspension and brake changes. Sedan or wagon, mild or wild, the TE is where the Australian Cortina became a convincing show-car and pro-street canvas.

• Introduced in Australia in 1977.
• 2.0 four, 3.3 six and 4.1 six options by variant.
• The flagship Ghia could carry the 4.1 litre crossflow six.

Original FordCortina gallery photograph: TF Cortina.

The TF closed the Australian Cortina chapter in 1981. It carried forward the hard-edged TE shape and the uniquely Australian idea that a Cortina could run Falcon-derived six-cylinder power. It was the final local revision of a model family that had grown from a light four-cylinder family car into a tough sedan or wagon with genuine street presence. Every surviving TF has its own story — stock, Ghia, modified, drag car, tow rig or family survivor — and that is exactly what this archive is here to keep visible.

• Final Australian revision, launched in 1980.
• Australian production concluded in 1981.
• Six-cylinder cars retain the local Cortina power-bulge and quad-headlight character.