Ford Cortina MkI 1.2 Two-door Saloon

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As the 1960s dawned, BMC were revelling in the success of their new Mini – the first successful true mini-car to be built in Britain in the post-war era.

Management at Ford 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 bigger family saloon 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 in September 1962. A massive success from the outset, the car confirmed Ford's reputation for offering a lot of car for the money.

Available with either a 1.2 or a 60bhp 1.5-litre engine in two-door and four-door saloon and estate forms, it came in Standard, Deluxe, Super and GT trim levels, entering the hall of motoring immortality when the Lotus Cortina entered the range in 1963. Some 933,000 examples were sold before it was replaced by the MkII in 1966, although survivors are now surprisingly rare and sought after, especially in two-door form as here.

Dating from 1966, this Cortina MkI two-door comes to the sale from Serbia (a first for Brightwells!) and was only recently acquired by the vendor who had been assured by a contact in the Balkans that it was a rare GT model. Alas, when it arrived on these shores he discovered to his dismay that it was in fact a standard 1.2 Saloon, hence its appearance here today.

Said to be in running order when it left Serbia, no attempt has been made to check the veracity of this claim since it arrived in the UK, so in view of the earlier GT disinformation, potential bidders are advised to treat this claim with caution. Said by the vendor to appear pretty original apart from the front seats, it is being offered here as a no reserve restoration project and, being a two-door model, would no doubt make a good basis for conversion into a more sporting machine such as the GT it briefly seemed to be.

With all import duties paid, it comes with Serbian registration papers and a print-out showing that the necessary NOVA requirements have been fulfilled so getting it UK registered should be a formality rather than a pain in the Balkans.