The Cortina was produced in five generations (Mark I through to Mark V, although officially the last one was called the Cortina 80) from 1962 until 1982. From 1970 onward, it was almost identical to the German-market Ford Taunus (being built on the same platform) which was originally a different car model. This was part of a Ford attempt to unify its European operations. By 1976, when the revised Taunus was launched, the Cortina was identical. In fact, this new Taunus–Cortina used the doors and some panels from the 1970 Taunus.

  All variants of the Cortina sold over one million, with each successive model proving more popular than its predecessor. Such was its fame in the UK that the BBC Two documentary series Arena once devoted an edition to the car and its enthusiasts.

  As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true minicar to be built in Britain in the postwar era. Management at Ford of Britain in Dagenham felt that they could not develop a similar small car to the same scale as the production cost would be too high, so instead they set about creating a larger family car which they could sell in large numbers.

  The result was the Cortina, a distinctively styled car aimed at buyers of the Morris Oxford and Vauxhall Victor, that was launched on 20 September 1962. Despite its eye catching modern styling, the car was from the start designed to be easy and inexpensive to produce: in Britain the front-wheel drive configuration used by Ford of Germany for their new similarly sized model was rejected in favour of the tried and tested rear-wheel drive layout.

   The car was branded as the Consul Cortina until a modest facelift in 1964, after which it was sold simply as the Cortina. The car confirmed Ford's reputation for offering a lot of car for the money: the estate version, in particular, provided class-leading load capacity.

    The second incarnation of the Cortina was designed by Roy Haynes, and launched on 18 October 1966, four years after the original Cortina. Although the launch was accompanied by the slogan "New Cortina is more Cortina", the car, at precisely 168 inches (430 cm) long, was fractionally shorter than before.

 
   Nevertheless, 2+¹⁄₂ inches (6.4 cm) of extra width and curved side panels did give the car a measurable improvement in interior space. In addition to the wider body and track, headline improvements included a smaller turning circle, softer suspension, self adjusting brakes and clutch together with the availability on the smaller-engined models, for the UK and some other markets, of a new five bearing 1300 cc engine.

  A stripped-out 1200 cc version running the engine of the Ford Anglia Super was also available for certain markets where the 1300 cc engine attracted a higher rate of tax. The 1500 cc engines were at first carried over, but for 1967, they received a new crossflow cylinder head design, making them more efficient. At this time, they became 1600 cc in size, with the Lotus Cortina continuing with its own unique engine.

     The fourth-generation Cortina was a more conventional design than its predecessor, but this was largely appreciated by fleet buyers.

Generally a rebody of the Mark III, as an integration of Ford's model range, this car was really a rebadged Ford Taunus. However, although the updated Taunus was introduced to Continental Europe in January 1976, Ford were able to continue selling the Cortina Mark III in undiminished numbers in the UK until they were ready to launch its successor as the Dagenham built Cortina Mark IV, which went on sale on 29 September 1976.

Many parts were carried over, most notably the running gear. The raised driving position and the new instrument panel had, along with some of the suspension upgrades, already been introduced to the Cortina Mark III in 1975, so that from the driving position the new car looked much more familiar to owners of recent existing Cortinas than from the outside.



The most obvious change was the new body, which achieved the marketing department objective of larger windows giving a better view out and a brighter feel to the cabin, but at the expense of body weight which was increased, albeit only marginally, by approximately 30 lb (14 kg). Ford claimed an overall increase in window area of some 15%, with "40% better visibility" through the wider deeper back window.

    The Mark V was announced on 24 August 1979. Officially it was known as "Cortina 80", although the Mark V tag was given to it immediately on release, by the press, insiders and the general public.

  A large update on the Mark IV, it was really a step between a facelift and a rebody. The Mark V differentiated itself from the Mark IV by having revised headlights with larger turn indicators incorporated (which now showed to the side too), a wider slatted grille said to be more aerodynamically efficient, a flattened roof, more glass area, slimmer C-pillars with revised vent covers, larger, slatted tail lights (on saloon models) and upgraded trim.

Prices started at £3,475 for a basic 1.3-litre-engined model.

  Improvements were also made to the engine range, with slight improvements to both fuel economy and power output compared to the Mk.IV. For example, the 2.3V6 engine was given electronic ignition and a slight boost in power output to 116 bhp (87 kW; 118 PS), compared to the 108 bhp (81 kW; 109 PS) of the Mk.IV.

    In South Africa, the Cortina range included V6 "Essex"-engined variants, in both 2.5L and 3.0L forms.

  From July 1971, a locally designed pick-up truck version (known in Afrikaans as a "bakkie") was also offered, and this remained in production after the Cortina was replaced by the Sierra.

   The Cortina pickup was exported to the UK, in a lengthened wheelbase form, as the Ford p100 until 1988, when Ford divested from South Africa, and a European built pick-up truck version of the Sierra was introduced in its place.

  The Mk V model range, introduced in 1980 for the South African market included: 1.3L (1980–1982), 1.6L GL (1980–1983), 2.0 GL, Ghia, (1980–1984), 3.0 XR6 (1980–1983), 1.6L Estate (1980–1983), 2.0 GL Estate (1980–1983), 3.0 GLS (1980–1984), 1.6 One-Tonner (1980–1985), 3.0 One-Tonner (1980–1985).

The XR6 was a sports version which used the Essex v6 and featured body aerofoils and sport seats.

  In 1981 a version called the XR6 Intercepter was released as a homologation special made to compete in production car racing. They featured triple Weber dcnf carburetors, aggressive camshaft, tubular exhaust manifold, suspension revisions and wider Ronal 13 inch wheels. They produced 118 kW and were only available in red. 200 were produced.

  Later on a special edition XR6 TF was released to celebrate 'Team Fords' racing success with the XR6. They were essentially XR6s in exterior and interior Team Ford colours, which were blue and white.