In 1961, Colin Chapman at Lotus was looking for a way to build his own engines for his cars to avoid the high costs associated with the Coventry Climax units they were built with. After developing a twin-cam version of the Ford Kent engine with Harry Mundy, Walter Hayes at Ford approached Chapman and asked if he could fit the engine they’d made to 1000 new Ford saloon models. And thus the Ford Lotus Cortina was born.
It’s quite fitting really that two such well known and loved names in British automotives should have united together on a car like this one. Whilst admittedly it pales in comparison to the uber fast speeds of modern performance cars, for a vintage British sports saloon of that time it was very impressive indeed.
The power on these two door models, weighing in at 904.9 kg - thus bringing it into Lotus’ design theory of ‘Simplify then add lightness’ - comes from a 1.6 Inline 4 engine, powering out 110 bhp. Behind the wheel of the Lotus Cortina, you could achieve top speeds of 104 mph, with acceleration from 0 - 60 mph in 11 seconds.
How do I book a Driving Experience?
You can buy a Ford Driving Experience in one of two ways. You may either buy a 10-month open gift certificate for one of our driving experience days or book straight onto an available day using our events calendar. Our Ford activities are generally available all year, so wherever you are in the UK, you should be able to find something suitable.
If no dates are available on the voucher page, please email or phone us and our customer service staff will provide you with the most up-to-date information. If you'd like to create a custom package, or if you'd want to turn one of our driving experiences into a group or corporate event, please visit our corporate days page and fill out our contact form.
If you purchase an open gift voucher for a Ford package, the voucher's normal validity term is 10 months. Please double-check this, as certain Ford coupons and special offers may have a shorter or longer validity period.
If you schedule a driving experience on a certain day, please keep in mind that you are making a reservation request, and the date and time you choose are still subject to availability.
We typically confirm reservations within 48 hours, however we ask that you wait until you get your final confirmation email before making any plans related to your booking request. The confirmation we give you when you submit a booking request is not the same as the receipt we send you.
When buying Ford driving experiences make sure that the driver fulfils all age, weight, height, and driving licence criteria. Because each driving experience has its own set of needs, please read the essential information carefully.
If an experience is exclusively for younger drivers, we will generally indicate it in the package name, although this is not always the case. If you arrange a driving experience and the driver does not satisfy the criteria on the day, it is doubtful that they will be allowed to drive the car; but, if space is available, they will be given a passenger trip.
Check out our junior driving adventures for some fantastic deals!
There are two four door versions - the only ones of their kind, in fact - of the Ford Lotus Cortina, which were made especially for the British Police forces of that time. They were produced as a trial for the Mid Anglia Constabulary to see if they would work as a fast patrol and pursuit car. The trials were unsuccessful, so these are the rarest Lotus Cortinas you can hope to find.
But crime solving’s loss was rally driving’s gain for the Lotus Cortina. Bengt Söderström and Gunnar Palm drove it to victory in the RAC Rally in 1966, as well as a win at the Swedish Rally - in challenging snowy conditions - in the winter of 1967.
All experiences are subject to availability. The most recent information on dates when an event may be available can be checked by looking at the calendars on the website, or when you have activated and logged in with your voucher. Please note not all spaces are shown online so if you cannot see spaces for your event please call or email for dates. We will do our best to secure your preferred choice of event, venue and date, but to avoid disappointment book as early as possible, especially for peak times such as weekends and the summer months which book up very quickly. Do not purchase an experience for yourself or as a gift that has a choice of venues if you or the person it is for are only able to travel to one of the choices. Once you are booked, you are bound by the terms and conditions of the event host of which a copy can be made available upon request. In most circumstances, a cancellation cannot be made once a date has been booked.
When booking by phone or online you should not make arrangements in connection with an Event until you have received your final booking confirmation stating your date and time (this does not include the automatic purchase email you receive that confirms what you have just ordered). Your final confirmation will usually arrive within 48 hours of making the purchase. For voucher redemption see 'voucher conditions' below. Where specific elements of an Event such as vehicles or equipment are not available due to mechanical breakdown, we reserve the right to make reasonable substitutions on the day. If this is not possible we reserve the right to cancel the experience at short notice.
Voucher holders must make a prior booking and receive confirmation in order that an open voucher can be redeemed. We recommend that when you have chosen your experience you redeem your voucher at least 21 days in advance of taking your selected experience. We do not guarantee availability on all events, even if the date is showing, so if a chosen event is full or you cannot find a suitable date during the validity period of your voucher then the credit can be used towards an alternative event. Do not arrive at a venue expecting to be able to use your voucher without making a prior booking and receiving a booking confirmation. Trackdays.co.uk will not be held liable for any costs incurred in such circumstances.
Unless stated otherwise, vouchers are valid for one person only. Where necessary a top-up payment can be made to increase the value of a voucher to book a higher priced event. Note that during the out of season months the price of experience may change. If the price of the event is lower than the value of the voucher the remaining credit will be held for use until the vouchers expiry date. We recommend booking as early as possible as you must have undertaken your experience before the expiry date printed on the front of your Voucher. All vouchers will be valid for use up to the expiry date displayed, but after this date, vouchers will automatically expire and cannot be reinstated under any circumstances. Trackdays.co.uk staff are not responsible for reminding or informing customers when a voucher is due to expire. A voucher holder may book a date which is outside of the expiration date displayed on the voucher but must extend the expiry of their voucher for an administration fee. This must be processed before the original expiry date. Voucher credit cannot be used for extension fees or to pay for booking protection.
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