The Ford Cortina GT was introduced in April 1963, the same year in which Ford set up a racing division at Boreham Airfield. The following year the car, equipped with a 1,558 cc twin-cam engine fitted with twin Weber DCOE carburetors, a second fuel tank behind the rear seat and Lotus Cortina gearbox ratios, was homologated into the Group 1 racing category.
Ford entered a team of six factory-prepared white Cortina GT cars in the 12th East African Safari Rally in 1964 to compete against Saab, Zodiac, MK3, Mercedes 220, Ford Comet and others. The event ran for 3,100 miles through Kenya, Uganada and Tanganyika on mostly unpaved roads. Four of the cars finished, giving Ford the manufacturer’s team prize, the first time that victory had been achieved with cars prepared in Europe. Driver Mike Armstrong came in third overall while Peter Hughes, Ford’s Kenyan importer, drove to outright victory in a Cortina bearing the KHS600 number plate.
The Cortina won so many races and rallies in 1964 that Ford later celebrated it as the “year of the Cortina.”
If you’re looking to diversify your rally car collection, then you need the AUTOart 1:18 scale version of the ‘64 Peter Hughes and Bill Young Rally Safari car. AUTOart No. 86482 with a street price around $110.
