The Cortina Mk5, or ‘Cortina 80’ as Ford coyly preferred, stealthily arrived in late summer 1979 under the codename ‘Teresa’. At a glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were still looking at the previous Mk4, such was the subtlety of its evolution. Yet closer inspection reveals a smarter, sleeker machine: new wraparound bumpers and indicators, a fresh slatted grille, restyled rear light clusters, a flatter roofline and much more glazing all around.
It’s a textbook example of Ford’s emerging ‘family look’, one echoed in the Fiesta Mk1 of 1976, Granada Mk2 of 1977 and Escort Mk3 that was to follow in 1980. Inside, the fascia – faithful to the ’73 facelifted Mk3 – manages to feel both familiar and surprisingly cohesive.
Under the skin, Cortina 80 owes its bones…
