What caught my eye is this shot of a (UK) Ford Zephyr 6, posted at the Cohort by Bryce. Haven’t I see that before? Yes I have.
OK, the 1960 Comet’s rear end was a bit more exuberant. But that’s what came to my mind. And then I remembered about the Zephyr’s front end:
Hmm, that looks somewhat familiar too.
Hardly a dead-ringer, but Ford really wasn’t using a strongly-divided front grille as a styling cue at the time, except on the Edsel, of course.This is the final 1960 version.
And this is the proposed front end of the small Edsel that was restyled to become the 1960 Comet.
Canadian Roy Brown created the concept that became the original 1958 Edsel, as well as the Ford Zephyr (and Cortina). But Bud Kaufman is credited with both the 1960 Edsel and Comet. So exactly how these design cues moved around is not exactly clear to me. Everyone’s always looking over someone’s shoulders, right?
I Only know this car from My Matchbox collection. I have more than one of these in a murky turquoise.
A Zephyr Matchbox car? My memory is a bit “murky,” but I don’t remember that one. I had the blue Land Rover, the green Ferrari, the bronze Vauxhall Viva, and a Bedford van in some color or another. My older brother, the lucky jerk, had the 1959 Chevy. IIRC, one of us had a white Cortina.
I’m sure it is online, But I’m not sure How Or I’d post the picture for you. Green Ford Zephyr…I had The Vauxhall u mentioned as well as the Ferrari.
The Zephyr’s front end is even closer to the ’71 Ford Courier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Courier#Second_Generation_.281971.E2.80.931976.29
Yeah,, I thought the same. When I saw the Ford Courier post the other day I immediately thought ‘Mark 2 Cortina grill!’
That generation ( Mk 3 ) of Zephyr ( and the plusher Zodiac) was hardly Ford UKs finest hour – although the Mk 4 was possibly worse. I remember an older cousin buying a new Zephyr 4 and enthusing about the “fly-off” handbrake , and I thought that must be the only good part of the car. Years later I got to drive a Mk 3 Zodiac briefly and thought it very forgettable. Interesting that Brown did both the Zephyr and the ( much more attractive) Cortina. I didn’t realise at the time but the Cortina used the same design features as the Cardinal/ Taunus 12M, although the Cortina looked a whole lot better.
The Cortina was a direct reply to the Cardinal project. The Brits wanted to prove they could do rear wheel drive lighter and almost as roomy but cheaper to build than the FWD Cardinal/Taunus. In an ecclesiastical pun, the UK project was named Archbishop. And yes they did know Cardinal referred a US bird not a guy in crimson. (Here’s the Cortina Saxon prototype)
“Archbishop” hilarious. When Americans hear “Cardinal” we mostly think of a midwestern baseball team.
Gosh that Saxon is a good looking car. Bryce is right, in this view from a blog you can see how Rambler it was. (CC here)
‘Nobody’ expects the Spanish Inquisition…
Wow, its like a baby 2 seat Thunderbird too.
When the MK1 Cortina was designed Ford had definitely seen a Rambler the side crease and tailights are near identical.
Hm. I never realized that the last-gen Edsel was, dare I say it, so elegant. It kind of reminds me of a Continental, with the razor-edge catwalk and the simple framing of the headlights on top of (not next to) the grille.
The greenhouse has sort of a mini-Rolls look to me.
I thought the same.
In that front end I’m seeing design elements of the late 60’s Ford Falcon.
That proto-Comet Edsel front end is a dead ringer for the ’63 Tempest.
I was thinking the same thing, very Pontiac.
+1
Thanks Paul these cars have become quite rare in NZ but Im not sure which begat which. When Ford Australia submitted its redesign for the MK2 in the late 50s one reason they got knocked back was this car was already on the design boards and the lowline MK2 had been released as a stopgap. Ford OZ got the Falcon as a consolation prize and discontinued Zephyr production, Ford NZ kept Zephyr assembly going, a shrewd move too as the Falcon proved too delicate for the poor Kiwi gravel roads of the era and the Zephyr had proved its durability since the 50s. With standard front discs and 4 speed these cars were very popular for generations, Falcon sales only gaining traction after the MK4 was released and bombed, Ive yet to find a live MK4.
NZ cars differed from the UK spec in that 4 cylinder Zephyrs were rare our standard model had a 6 optional for UK buyers fleet buyers went for Cortinas and govt depts got special stripper models in grey. Police had Zephyrs for a while but not the police specials the UK cops got and of course Zephyr geaboxes found their way into US Falcons.
+1 , and all our Zephyrs were standards with the plain grill-less front. I’ve never seen a UK-style deluxe with the fake front grill.
I drove a friend’s Mk4 a couple of times: a miserable experience with the vast bonnet ahead of me, poverty spec plastic interior, nasty column change coupled to a fussy and strangely torqueless V6.
That Mk4 Zephyr does have a front engine, right? I know it does, I looked it up. Apparently its front end was designed to suit the spare tire.
How strange! A late-sixties premium-class front-engine Ford, that’s a grilleless mouth-breather! Not “aerodynamic” like an Avanti, it’s all squared off. Looks like a Hillman Imp. How did that go over?
I remember the ads for new MK4s giving away gallons of free petrol Ford really worked hard to even give them away just as the Falcon finally turned into a reasonable alternative and lost its well deserved reputation for disintegrating
@Mike PDX I do know of a dead MK4 Zodiac locally and from memory the Bonnet/hood is up but yes they are front engined 4wheel independant suspension 4 wheel disc brakes quite advanced for a Ford just not baked long enough the early 2.5 V6 was crap and the 3L Zodiac motor which quickly became standard across the range here couldnt save them. Motor wreckers were doing engine swaps on near new cars dropping in 289s and SBCs the MK4 tranny can handle a 350 without problems. Ironically a well sorted 3L Essex can be made to go real good a mate of mine did one but what you bought from Ford wasnt done very well. Ill try to get a pic for y’all of the Zodi
Dead-ringers? Try the front grill of most 1965 Lincolns and Mercurys up against a 1970 UK Ford Cortina.
When I was a kid, the Mk3 Zephyr/Zodiac scared me. I think it was the combination of the grille, narrow rear track and the pointy slightly-sideways-slanted fins. ID/DS Citroens and HD/HR Holdens also scared me (the Cit reminded me of a giant cockroach and the Holden was just creepy). Funny how your mind works when you’re a kid lol!
Now that I’m closer to 40 than to 4, I tolerate the HD/HR just fine, and love the design of the Citroen. Likewise, Mk3 Zephyrs I now like and find interesting, and Mk3 Zodiacs are just divine – I love the extra side window and how the overall Frua-inspired look is unique from what else Ford was doing then.
The Mk4 Zephyr/Zodiacs? They were weird when I was short, and decades later they still are. They look like a widened Mk2 Cortina centre-section with a disproportionately long nose, a disproportionately short boot, and a too-narrow track….bleuch. But if I can grow to like the Mk3, maybe I’ll like the Mk4 one day…!
In 1976 I was surprised to discover that most of the boys in my NZ 6th Form thought the Mk3 Zephyr was the coolest car to have because of its tough-guy image: A young man in a Mk3 was obviously up to no good.
everyone is forgetting one of the most distinctive brit fords ever and it was desighned by the edsel desighner..the ford consul classic 315 and its sister cas the pillerless ford consul capri 315 both were produced between 61 and 63 only a 2 year run 3 years for the capri both very distinktive looking cars and highly collectable now have a look google ford consul classic 315