A landmark nameplate for the Ford Motor Company, the Cortina is many things to many people, especially in the United Kingdom because it was designed and primarily built there. This particular example of the breed, which started out as a 1967 GT specification, stands out from its siblings thanks to a rather surprising engine instead of the original Kent 1600.
Listed online with five days of bidding left, this blast from the past has received the Zetec-R from a 2004 Ford Focus SVT. As if that wasn’t crazy enough, the engine compartment accommodates no fewer than four individual throttle bodies from a Suzuki GSX-R1000 sportbike.
But wait, there’s more! Acquired by the seller in 2011 with the period-correct powerplant, this Cortina is rocking a five-speed manual transmission sourced from a Merkur XR4Ti. You know, the badge-engineered brother of the Ford Sierra XR4i from the Old Continent, adapted to U.S. regulations and championed by Bob Lutz during his tenure as vice president of Ford.
Currently sitting at $5,967 on Bring a Trailer, the two-door sedan was repainted in red under prior ownership. An offset yellow stripe, English Ford Line graphics on the rear quarter panels, Cibie Super Oscar rally lights, square fog lamps, and wire headlight grilles also need to be mentioned, along with 14-inch wheels wrapped in 175/65 tires. That’s a really small contact patch, and you know what that means in the twisties, don’t you?
In addition to the Federal Formoza FD1 rubber shoes, the seller includes an extra set of Yokohama Advan 032R semi-slick tires. The engine oil, spark plugs, and wires were replaced for extra peace of mind within the past 250 miles, and the odometer shows just around 84,000 miles (135,184 km).
Offered with build records, original manuals, and a clean title, this corner carver is pretty special on the inside as well. Not only did the owner strip out the interior in favor of a MOMO quick-release steering wheel and Corbeau seats, but highlights also include a roll cage and four-point harnesses.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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