The second incarnation of the Cortina was designed by Roy Haynes and launched on 18th October, 1966, four years after the original Cortina.

Although the launch was accompanied by the slogan 'New Cortina is more Cortina', the car, at 16 feet long, was fractionally shorter than before.

Its 2 1/2 inches of extra width and curved side panels provided more interior space.

Other improvements included a smaller turning circle, softer suspension, self-adjusting brakes and clutch together with the availability, on the smaller-engined models, of a new five-bearing, 1300cc engine.

A month later, in August, the 1300 received a new crossflow cylinder head design making it more efficient, while a crossflow 1600 replaced the 1500.

The Cortina was Britain's most popular new car in 1967, achieving the goal that Ford had been trying to achieve since it set out to create the original Cortina back in 1962.

Period reviews were favourable concerning both the styling and performance.

Again, two-door a...