The biggest step forward for the fourth-generation Cortina was a that it finally saw the convergence of the German Taunus and the British Cortina. No longer were these two separate ranges, but merely the same cars carrying different badges. The arrival of the Mk4 was also significant because it meant that UK Ford dealers would now be able to sell Cortinas built overseas – a consideration that would take on considerable significance as Dagenham became increasingly blighted by industrial unrest during the mid-’70s.
As for the car itself, although the Mk4 was a much more more conventional design than its predecessor, and in terms of technology amounted to little more than a rebody of the outgoing Mk3 – so that meant a retention of that car’s running gear and suspension layout, and a retention of the final model’s dashboard and revised seating position. So, for existing Cortina owners, driving a Mk4 would feel very familiar indeed, albeit with a much nicer view out, thanks to a 15 per cent greater glass area. On the outside, Uwe Bahnsen’s smart new clothes were very much of the moment, and rendered the Mk3 Coke bottle immediately redundant – a familiar phenomenon in short life span cars.
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