Thursday 26th July 2012

Spotted: Lotus Cortina Mk2

Lovely, original-looking Cortina packs a surprising punch, with a little help from Honda

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Everyone has their favourite automotive Frankenstein; mixing powertrains, components and bodies to create some kind of fantastic four-wheeled freak. How about a VW Passat fitted with a twin-turbo W12, for example?

Some manufacturers have even attempted their own madcap creations. Nissan is particularly fond of powertrain pick'n'mix, slotting a 350Z's V6 into a Micra a few years ago and recently announcing the GTR-powered Juke-R will make limited production.

Wait a minute, that's not the original engine!

But Nissan Micras and Jukes will never be highly regarded classic cars, will they? Their touring car exploits will not be talked about in 50 years time, cared-for originals will not be worth tens of thousands of pounds and they won't ever be known simply by an iconic paint scheme.

Which brings us to this Lotus Cortina. With the engine and gearbox from a Honda S2000. For fans of both modified cars and unmolested classics but not necessarily the two combined, this Cortina is a really interesting car to discuss.

From the classic point of view, this appears a heinous crime against an old car that was already hugely enjoyable with its original engine. Nissan messing around with mass-produced cars seems fine but how many good Lotus Cortinas, especially mark twos, can actually be left? And then someone fits an engine and gearbox that has nothing to do with Lotus or Ford! Its provenance is ruined, and without that what's left?

But this car tests such a purist stance. Because this Cortina is a mark two (made just prior to Ford removing 'Lotus' and making it a Twin Cam) and thus, arguably, less sought after than the originals, it seems less deplorable to start fettling with it. Be honest, it's not the car you picture when someone says Lotus Cortina, is it? And whilst a Honda engine is no direct relation to the 1.6 original, it is undoubtedly close in spirit, its high-revving nature thriving on the kind of commitment that brought the best from the Lotus motor.

And on top of all of this, doesn't it just look like damned good fun? 240hp, a limited-slip differential, disc brakes all-round and a kerb weight that must be under a tonne sounds like a recipe for an awesome road and track car, originality be damned! Or should it? Discuss...

Finally, if you prefer your cars completely original, how about perusing the PH classifieds for an S2000 AND a Cortina for less than the £17,495 asked for this?

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LOTUS CORTINA MK2 (original)
Engine: 1,558cc 4-cylinder
Gearbox: Four-speed manual
Power (hp): 110 6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 107@4,500rpm
0-60mph: 11.0 seconds
Top Speed: 105mph
Fuel consumption: 24.6mpg
CO2: N/A
Price then: £869
Price now: £17,495 (with S2000 conversion)

See the original advert here.

[boobles]

Love these!

[anonymous-user]

Everything about this is cool.

[B10]

That is very naughty. I love it.

[fathomfive]

Very nice indeed.

[TEKNOPUG]

Looks like a fun and interesting combination!

I do wonder whether it was actually built from a MK2 Lotus or just a Mk2 shell and is a "recreation" as per the advert? Wording seems a little ambiguous. If it's just a normal MK2 shell then fair play, what a great bit of work. I'd be less impressed if someone had chopped up an original Lotus though.

[marshalla]

There is no such things as a Lotus Cortina Mk. 2.

It's a Ford Cortina Lotus Mk. 2.

Only cars produced in the Lotus factory were Lotus Cortinas.

[NISR227]

Love it! Bet it sounds weird hearing that fly past with all the revs screaming.

[thewheelman]

For that money, fk no!

[Motown Junk]

marshalla said:

There is no such things as a Lotus Cortina Mk. 2.

It's a Ford Cortina Lotus Mk. 2.

Only cars produced in the Lotus factory were Lotus Cortinas.

[CapriV6S]

Ford Cortina Twin-Cam.

Ford never officially called the Mk2 version a Lotus despite Lotus-spec. They didnt call it a Mk2 either.
But I call it a Lotus Cortina Mk2 anyway. I think its a series-1 Mk2 from 67 or 68. Interesting car, thanks for post.

[Mermaid]

Regardless of the actual name, wonderful cars.

[FWDRacer]

Classic car. Modern rip your neck off powertrain. What is not to like here?

Ah, the concours anoraks/beards... they arrive quietly as the socks and sandals, clutching their autoglym. They are amongst here. On this thread.

[Dan Trent]

OK!

So, checked with the Eric Dymock Ford book, where he refers to it as the Lotus Cortina. But our friends at Classic & Sports Car tutted and said "oh no, we always refer to Mk2s as Cortina II Lotus".

Duly noted and though opinions do seem to vary the consensus seems to be towards Cortina Lotus but I'll leave the headline as-is because that's the more recognised way of referring to it. And the matter has been raised in the discussion here for anyone who wants to have it out...

Whatever it's called, it looks like a whole lot of fun!

[C7 JFW]

That's bloody desirable. The engine will go on forever, they're reliable as hell and it'll sound excellent.

Smashing toy.

[GR4]

TEKNOPUG said:

Looks like a fun and interesting combination!

I do wonder whether it was actually built from a MK2 Lotus or just a Mk2 shell and is a "recreation" as per the advert? Wording seems a little ambiguous. If it's just a normal MK2 shell then fair play, what a great bit of work. I'd be less impressed if someone had chopped up an original Lotus though.

Agreed - Looks like the donor car was a standard Mark 2 Cortina, not a Lotus, so not a heinous crime at all!

[vixen1700]

I really like it.

Came close to buying one in the mid-80s, it was a toss up in the Exchange & Mart at £1995 between a MKII Lotus Cortina and a Peugeot 304 Cabriolet.

I chose the stty 304.

:greatbigfacepalm:

[Dusty964]

Fantastic

[Mermaid]

vixen1700 said:

I really like it.

Came close to buying one in the mid-80s, it was a toss up in the Exchange & Mart at £1995 between a MKII Lotus Cortina and a Peugeot 304 Cabriolet.

I chose the stty 304.

:greatbigfacepalm:

If it had been a 404 Cabriolet FI, you would have been OK.

[vixen1700]

Mermaid said:

If it had been a 404 Cabriolet FI, you would have been OK.

Yeah, I know, but it was one of these dumpy little things, and it broke down a couple of times in the 20 mile drive back.

[VR6 Turbo]

I posted this car in the decently modified thread ages ago.