An early 1970s Cortina with a factory-fitted V8? Surely this one falls into the category of tell ’em they’re dreamin’, son! Actually, not quite.
Back in 1971 Ford Australia was riding the crest of a wave of performance car-led prosperity with the Falcon GT-HO as spearhead. In its bid to stay ahead of the curve, Ford gave consideration to replacing its hottest Falcon with a V8-powered TC Cortina, in readiness for the impending arrival of, firstly, Holden’s V8 Torana XU-1 and then the similar-sized LH model Torana V8 challenger.
This was a story AMC told way back in issue #22 after the discovery of confidential factory document that provided a rare insight into the numerous ideas being discussed at Ford during that turbulent time. Had these ideas been implemented they would have changed the course of muscle car history. The document, discussing Ford Australia’s ‘Forward Model Performance Car Strategy’ was dated August, 1971, and distributed internally to members of the Blue Oval’s local Product Committee.
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