Photo: Gordon Campbell
There was a time when the Ford Cortina was ubiquitous in New Zealand. A hugely popular family car, or hotted-up racer, seen up and down the country.
Now a new book pays homage to all the Cortinas Marks I to V.
Author and Cortina fan Gordon Campbell's book Kiwis and Cortinas places the car in New Zealand's motoring history.
Photo: Gordon Campbell
The book features 35 Ford Cortinas and their owners, from some who have just one Cortina to one who owns 12 and another who owns 26.
“I think that the Cortina, more than most cars, was actually not just a New Zealand motoring icon, it's actually a New Zealand social icon,” Campbell told Nine to Noon.
Photo: Gordon Campbell
There's virtually nobody in New Zealand who hasn’t been touched by a Cortina somewhere along the way, he said.
“Whether they've owned one or more or parents had them. They just seem to be one of those cars.
They are distinctive, particularly the very early ones. There's no mistaking the shape for any other car. They can only be a Cortina.”
Photo: Gordon Campbell
The very first Cortinas came out in 1962, he said, and the last ones were assembled in New Zealand in 1983.
“Their performance was pretty good for the day. They had plenty of room. They were good family cars, they were company cars, they covered all kinds of things. And I think that's part of the appeal.”
They were an almost immediate hit in New Zealand, he said.
“They were assembled here, so, in those days you had to have overseas funds to buy a car and when they were assembled in New Zealand you got round all that.
“The pricing was good what they offered in terms of performance and room and economy and everything else - they just hit a sweet spot.”
Photo: Gordon Campbell
Early Cortinas had some success on the race track, he said.
“Ford and Lotus produced the Lotus Cortina. Lotus took a Ford Cortina and they put a special racing engine, and gearbox, changed the suspension and that kind of thing.
“Those early ones were always white with a green flash down the side. And they were driven very successfully by some of the world's top racing drivers at the time.”
Photo: Gordon Campbell
