Thursday 13th November 2014

Lotus Cortina to Bo'ness hillclimb

PH follows in the tyre tracks of the great Jim Clark in a car he helped become a legend

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50 years is an important anniversary in anyone's books. Look at the recent upsurge in interest, and values, of the likes of the Jaguar E-Type and Porsche 911 and it's clear the big five-oh can have a significant effect. In the case of the Lotus Cortina, its half century fell in 2013. Meaning we missed it by a year.

Most definitely raced AND rallied by Clark

OK, it may be 51 years since Ford launched the Lotus Cortina, but it's bang on 50 years since Jim Clark immortalised the car by winning the British Saloon Car Championship (BSCC) in 1964. The forerunner of the modern British Touring Car Championship, the BSCC was a hotbed of big name drivers and fast cars, so it seemed entirely fitting to mark the occasion in some way.

Short of offers to drive a race-prepped Lotus Cortina, Ford very kindly proffered its own 1965 car from the heritage collection based in Dagenham. With the car sorted, it was up to us to find a suitable event and which better than the Bo'ness Hill Climb Revival?

Bo'ness is 20 miles outside of Edinburgh and the oldest motorsport venue in Scotland. It also happens to be where a young Jim Clark honed his skills and started to notch up victories. Put car, driver and location together and we had the bones of a great road trip.

Takes quite a lot to make the schlep up the A1 fun...

It was made all the more special when organisers of the Bo'ness Revival got wind of our plans and asked if we'd like to run the Lotus Cortina up the hill for some demo runs throughout the weekend. Given Anthony Reid, John Cleland and Bill Dryden were also slated to run demos, it was more than enough incentive.

Crunch numbers, not bodywork
As the world of classic cars is rapidly turning into a calculator-driven spiral of auction prices, it's good to take part in an event run on such gentlemanly lines as Bo'ness. Goodwood and Cholmondeley may be the headline acts for this hark back to the auric era of motorsport, but Bo'ness exudes a genuine clubman feel thanks to its laid back approach and simple paddock.

That's not to say it's run in anything but a professional manner, it just offers competitors and public alike the chance to mix, chat and generally revel in the pre-1980 mix of cars. There's everything here from a 1904 Brasier Gordon Bennett to single-seaters and even a millimetre perfect hand-crafted recreation of a Porsche 904.

Jim Clark in the Lotus Cortina at Crystal Palace...

To get to Bo'ness involved collecting the Lotus Cortina from Ford in Dagenham. No need for trailers we were told, just turn up and drive off. There's confidence for you and it was rewarded with a brilliant drive to Scotland. Of course, we took the Great North Road, better known as the A1 these days, before turning off on to the A68 and its rolling route over the border on roads Jim Clark would be only too familiar with.

During our drive up, we were amazed at the attention the Lotus Cortina garnered. For a 50 year-old car with a modest 105hp from its 1,558cc four-cylinder engine it sure makes a big impression on all who see it. Performance is modest by modern standards and we were respectful of this car's engine being due a major overhaul, but it still revved keenly and overtook slower traffic with ease.

In on the act
The thin-rimmed wooden steering wheel feels almost too fragile on first acquaintance, but the directness of unassisted steering and narrow tyres soon lets you place the Lotus Cortina with precision and drift the rear end through corners and roundabouts. What the Lotus Cortina lacks in outright pace, it more than makes up for with driver involvement.

...and in the rough with it in the 1966 RAC rally

Arriving home on Friday night, we were surprisingly fresh, so an early start on Saturday was no problem. With the Lotus Cortina parked up at Bo'ness and scrutineered, it was time to settle into an enjoyable rhythm of answering questions about the car and listening to many reminiscences involving Lotus Cortinas. It seems the model has played a huge part in many lives over the years, which explains its popularity with all who come to say hello.

As for the demo runs, it was a fairly gentle canter up Bo'ness' short but demanding course in deference to the car's age, immaculate condition and Ford's understandable insistence on it not being used for a competitive excursion. Even so, the steering's accuracy and the light weight of the Lotus-Cortina compared to most modern cars allowed it to feel nimble.

Repeat after me: "It's only a demo run..."

Feedback
As for the engine, it creates all sorts of delightful noises, from the intake noise of the twin Weber 40DCOE carbs to the rasp of the exhaust. It makes it a much more intimate experience than many modern cars and you don't need to bother with the rev counter in the Lotus Cortina to know how hard it's working at any given moment, it lets you know simply through sound.

As well as the crisp feel of the engine responses and steering, the gear shift is also pleasingly direct, though it pays not to hurry it and downshifts sometimes required a double-declutch for a smooth change. Then there's the ride quality that makes this 50-year old saloon much more capable of covering long distances than you might first expect. Given the car had a 400-mile return trip to Dagenham straight after the Bo'ness Hill Climb Revival, this was a welcome asset.

Al gets stuck into the historic Bo'ness hillclimb

While that return trip would instil a weary sense of duty in many cars notching up their half century, the Lotus Cortina had us gee'd up for the run back down the A68 and past Duns, where the Jim Clark Museum celebrates the life and achievements of one of the greatest race drivers ever. 50 years on from Jim Clark's victory in the British Saloon Car Championship, the Lotus Cortina remains a high point in Ford's performance catalogue and worth celebrating regardless of any anniversary.

 

Period photos: LAT Photo

[Hasbeen]

Yep the 105E [Anglia], 115E, [Cortina], Lotus & Cosworth versions of that little Ford engine, & the cars, were the backbone of motor racing for a decade.

Simple, cheap, & effective, great cars & a great era.

[garypotter]

What a beautiful looking car...

[dinkel]

What is it which makes them look so purposefull?

[jamespink]

Had a pre-cross flow Mk1 Cortina GT that was rally prepped, so much oppo fun on the roads, all at legal speeds! Brilliant cheap fun car, not outpaced on the Monte Classic.

[Cotty]

garypotter said:

What a beautiful looking car...

Yep, always had a soft spot of the Mk1 Cortina

[redroadster]

I think it's the stance body dropped over rear wheels it just looks race ready,my dad's favourite car and for that reason alone itve got a soft spot for it.

Surely Lotus should be concentrating on bringing out a modern day version like the Carlton,it must be a much cheaper option and quicker than developing a car from scratch just what they need to do at the moment ?

[PATTERNPART]

Nice article. I keep meaning to go and support this event. If you can get all the way from London in an old Cortina I really cant use the age and basic nature of my early MX5 as an excuse. Well done to all those involved in resurrecting this event. Scotland needs more. And well done for including reference to Bill Dryden. Not many people know that he was a Works Vauxhall driver in the 70's sponsored by SMT. Perhaps because a certain G Marshall tended to get in front of the microphones and cameras first! Bill drove all the same Firenzas and Magnums with great aplomb.

[I WISH]

"Iconic" is an over used word ..... but not in the case of the Lotus Cortina (or Cortina Lotus as Ford insisted it should be called).

If values weren't so damned high I would have bought one by now.

I passed my test in an Ermine white 1966 Cortina Estate 1500 .... so have something of a soft spot for Cortinas in general.

I seem to remember those "ban the bomb" rear lights causing something of a stir when the car was first released.

The sound of a twin cam on song is just glorious.

Edited by I WISH on Thursday 13th November 16:05

[daytona365]

What do people see in these old 'Dagenham dustbins' ? Ok they're quite period nice with their little rasping twin cams, but hardly the icons some make them out to be.

[andybu]

Lovely car. I only got interested in circuit racing (being a confirmed rallyman at the time) when Ford put Jim Clark into a Lotus Cortina for the 1966 RAC rally. Which, in that era, went round a lot of Britain, lasted two weeks and included some 24 hour driving spells through day and night.

Most of us rallymen thought that Clark would put it off amongst the trees by day 3 or so. Not a bit of it; within the first week he was climbing up onto the top 10 leader board and setting FTD's on several stages. The man could drive anything quickly and proved that to us by coming to grips so quickly with such a different set of driving techniques. After that as a Clark fan I watched him in saloons and F1. His technique round Brands in one of these was spellbinding to watch.

[grumpy52]

daytona365 said:

What do people see in these old 'Dagenham dustbins' ? Ok they're quite period nice with their little rasping twin cams, but hardly the icons some make them out to be.

Report to the back of the lock ups that man !
Some Essex boys in overcoats want a quite word .

[mybrainhurts]

I WISH said:

The sound of a twin cam on song is just glorious.

Aye, approaching through the forests in the middle of the night, nothing like it.

[e21Mark]

Gorgeous. Happy to see cars like this being used as intended.

[sideways man]

My mate had one,which he loaned to me for a day. Nearly 30 years later I still remember it fondly,not that quick but the rasping twink,light weight and direct gearchange made a very enjoyable drive. Later I bought a s4 elan mostly on memories of that drive.

Nearly started my rally career in one,but chose a mk1 escort instead as the guy wanted £700 for it,which was a little expensive. How times change!

[lbc]

I love the MK1 Cortina and Escort.

I wish Ford still made new ones.

Cars of today all look the same.

[Cotty]

daytona365 said:

What do people see in these old 'Dagenham dustbins' ? Ok they're quite period nice with their little rasping twin cams, but hardly the icons some make them out to be.

You need to look at their racing history.

[coppice]

daytona365 said:

What do people see in these old 'Dagenham dustbins' ? Ok they're quite period nice with their little rasping twin cams, but hardly the icons some make them out to be.

Few cars deserve the overused term 'icon ' . But the Lotus Cortina is one of them without question. Countless victories on race tracks and rally stages , lovely styling and one of the best engines of the period. Iconic drivers too- Jim Clark 3 wheeling his Cortina is rightly the stuff of legend .And still fantastic to watch on track - the scrap between Meaden and Shedden in their Cortinas at this year's Silverstone Classic was one of the best races of the meeting

Any suggestions of what your superior motoring icons would be? We should be told.....

Maybe the greatest tribute to the Lotus Cortina is the old joke that of the 3000 made 10,000 now survive.

[Escort3500]

daytona365 said:

What do people see in these old 'Dagenham dustbins' ? Ok they're quite period nice with their little rasping twin cams, but hardly the icons some make them out to be.

So it begs the question 'what defines an icon' I suppose. For me, the LC is iconic for its mix of nostalgia, unique looks, sporting edge and the Jim Clark/Sir John Whitmore connection. It was probably triggered by going to Croft Autodrome (as it was then) as a kid with my dad, hearing the induction roar of the twin 40 Webers and witnessing the better drivers drifting them though the bends. Then dad got one, a '65 in red (don't know if it was a special order) with Pirelli Cinturatos on wide steels, a Les Leston woodrim steering wheel and a pair of small Cibies up front. He traded it for a 2000E Corsair a couple of years later Never forgiven you dad

[e21Mark]

I always saw these as the 60's Ford equivalent of the E30 M3 and a true icon, in the real sense of the word.

[surreyjock]

Bought one in 1972 from a bomb site car lot in Lordship Lane, East Dulwich. Paid £350 and sold it around a year later to a geezer from Peckham for £325. Think the reg may have been DHY 137C but can't be certain. It was red with a gold flash, the Alan Mann Racing livery as driven (I think) by Sir John Whitmore amongst others. It was aspirational for me at the time as Jim Clark was my hero and still is. Just wish I'd kept photos of my cars back then.