Ford Taunus

Ford Taunus was the designation for a middle -car from the German car factory Ford Werke AG in Cologne of the American automaker Ford Motor Company . The name Taunus comes from a German mountain, as also in another model, the Ford Eifel (1935 and 1939), was the case.

Until 1967 Taunus was used as the brand name for all German car models of Ford Europe. There were at that time German Ford Taunus models 12M, 15M and 17M and a van that "FK 1000" (F ord K OLN) and later "Ford Taunus Transit" was called.

With the introduction of the Ford Taunus type P7 in 1967 the policy was changed. The brand name was Ford Taunus and became the model designation. Existing models were renamed Ford 12M, Ford 15M, 17M Ford, Ford 20M, 26M Ford andFord Transit . The letter M stands for "Meisterstück" or "Masterpiece".

Models Overview: After Ford in 1969, the popular Ford Capri was introduced in 1970, the model name Taunus revived for a European middle class. Virtually the same model was simultaneously produced in England under the name Ford Cortina . Hence the model code for this series TC (Taunus Cortina).
 * Ford Taunus G93A (1939-1942 / 1948-1952) "hunchback"
 * Ford Taunus 12M G13 / 15M (1952-1962) "World Sphere"
 * Ford Taunus 17M P2 (1957-1960) "Baroque"
 * Ford Taunus 17M P3 (1960-1964) "Bathtub"
 * Ford Taunus 12M P4 (1962-1966)
 * Ford Taunus 17M P5 (1964-1967)
 * Ford Taunus P6 12M (1966-1970)
 * Ford (Taunus) P6 15M (1967-1971)
 * Ford P7 17M / 20M / 26M (1967-1971)
 * Ford Taunus TC1 1.3 1.6 2.0 2.3 (1970-1975)
 * Ford Taunus TC2 1.3 1.6 2.0 2.3 (1976-1979)
 * Ford Taunus TC3 1.3 1.6 2.0 2.3 (1979-1983)

The series was characterized by a large choice of finishes: L, XL, GT and GXL - later temporarily L, GL, S and Ghia - and from 1979 Standard, L, GL and Ghia. On the last performances was a sports package available. The performances were called LS, GLS and Ghia S. The most popular model was the 2-door "coupe" that was produced from 1970 to 1975 in Europe.

Until 1976 the English TC models were still visible, but since the introduction of type "TC 2" they were almost identical. The drive performance of the German Taunus TC was called Turnier, the English version called the TC Cortina Estate. From 1979 TC3 came from; these differed only in details from the TC2. The TC3 was enlarged taillights and blinkers aside. In 1983, the last rolled Taunus of the tire.

For introduction into the TC was the American Ford Pinto -motor a European four-cylinder engine with overhead camshaftderived (OHC). Nor could the car with the existing V6 Pinto engine from Cologne come.

Ford of Europe in this period was known for a wide choice of engines and wild designations equipment connected to it as L, LS, S, XL, XLR, GT, GTS, GTX, GTXL, GTXLR and GTSLR. Successor of the Taunus in 1983 was the Ford Sierra, which then in 1993 by the front-wheel drive Ford Mondeo was followed.
 * 1.3 l, 55 hp, four-cylinder OHC
 * 1.5 l, 65 hp V4 OHC
 * 1.6 liter, 68 hp, four-cylinder OHC
 * 1.6 l, 72 hp, four-cylinder OHC
 * 1.6 liter, 88 hp, four-cylinder OHC
 * 1.7 l, 65 hp V4 OHC
 * 2.0 liter, 90 hp, V6 OHC
 * 2.3 liter, 108 horsepower V6 OHC

The Taunus is produced in Cologne and Genk and later in Turkey and Argentina, which in the eighties resulted in the rare Coupé here. Turkish Otosan, the Taunus built under license yielded mid nineties a version with different design details and include air conditioning .