Ford Cortina Returns From Imagination Land as a Lesser Mustang Mach-E

Ford is a giant in its home market when it comes to pretty much everything, including production, but its assembly facilities in Europe are industry powerhouses as well. The one in the UK, for instance, was responsible over the years for birthing nameplates that will forever have a place in the history books.

The Cortina is exactly such a name. It arrived on the European scene at a time when the American one was already enjoying soon-to-be-classics like the Thunderbird, while at the same time getting ready to know and appreciate the Mustang.

A bare-bones European model, the Cortina was launched in 1962, and was primarily intended for the roads of the Old Continent, Australia, and South Africa. Playing in the medium-size segment, it would prove so popular that in the following decades, it became Britain’s best-selling model, and it would go on to live for five generations and two decades, with production ending in 1982. It even made it into the United States for a brief period, until Ford decided the fire-prone Pinto would be a more suitable offer for the everyday American.

Going above and beyond the line of duty, the Cortina was also a popular rally car, taking part in several competitions during its day.

With all its merits, and despite the habit some carmakers have of bringing back to life long-gone models, there is no word on the Cortina making a return. This isn’t stopping people from being hopeful, though, and dreaming up a revival of the model.

The latest to do so are the guys over at British car financing firm Car Lease Special Offers, who had an unnamed renderer take a shot at reimagining four iconic cars of the past. And the Cortina opens the list.

It’s obvious right from the start that the rendering takes a lot after the original model, but blends that with quite a lot of styling cues we see on the present-day Mustang Mach-E. It does this because, naturally, it has been drawn as an electric vehicle.

I have to admit, many of the renderings coming our way from British companies in the business of selling cars or financing them are rather childish takes at designing cars. But the Cortina is a rather surprisingly pleasant appearance.

Even if such a Ford is not designed with the Cortina in mind, but some other model, we’d still be quite excited to see it on the road sometime in the future. Not in the U.S., of course, as the Blue Oval gave up on sedans and saloons for that market some time ago.