• Very rare soft-top model • Offered from long-term dry storage • Started and driven recently • Requires re-commissioning Launched at the 1950 Motor Show, Ford's Consul and Zephyr Six broke new ground for the Dagenham firm.

Both models were of unitary construction and featured overhead-valve engines, three-speed synchromesh gearboxes and MacPherson strut independent front suspension.

The Autocar remarked that the newcomers combined 'typically Ford low-cost motoring with new luxury and performance.' Together with the range-topping six-cylinder Zodiac, which had been introduced for 1954, the Consul and Zephyr were totally redesigned for 1956, emerging in MkII guise larger than before and benefiting from bigger engines, in the Consul's case a 1,703cc four that delivered 59bhp.

A lengthened wheelbase brought with it better weight distribution, while subsequent MkII developments included a lower roof from February 1959 and front disc brakes, the latter optional from September 1960 and st...