![]() ![]() This feature was imported from the 1958 Lincoln Continental where it was necessitated by the design requirement for an opening ("breezeway") rear window. The Ford Classic was similar in appearance to the more popular Ford Anglia, featuring the same distinctive reverse-rake rear window. Ford therefore entered the 1960s with the small Anglia, Popular and Prefect, the big " three graces" (Consul, Zephyr and Zodiac) launched back in 1956, and not the mid-size market Classic. In practice the run-away early success of the Anglia (1959 on) used up most of the car manufacturing capacity at Dagenham, vindicating the decision to compete against the BMC Mini (the Halewood plant did not open until 1963). Other aspects of R&D followed, and it is likely that a recognisably similar car could have been introduced in 1959 subject to different senior management decisions. The main styling cues came straight from Dearborn (Michigan) as they often did, defining the car as a scaled-down Galaxie 500, from the waist down, topped with a Lincoln Continental roofline. The styling exercises were mainly undertaken in 1956 under Colin Neale. The Classic was made by Ford to be "suitable for the golf club car park", and was originally intended for introduction earlier and deletion later than actually occurred. ![]() ![]() Obvious competitor models at the time included the Hillman Minx and Singer Gazelle from Rootes Group. It is sometimes referred to as the Ford 109E, though that was only one of four such codes utilized for the Consul Classic, as explained below. Steering and suspension also received "greased for life" joints. The 1,340 cc (82 cu in) four-cylinder pre-crossflow Kent engine was replaced in August 1962 by an over-square 1,498 cc (91.4 cu in) engine with a new five-bearing crankshaft and a new gearbox with synchromesh on all four forward ratios. The Ford Consul Capri was a 2-door coupé version of the Classic, and was available from 1961 until 1964. The name Ford Consul 315 was used for export markets. It was available in two or four door saloon form, in Standard or De Luxe versions, and with floor or column gearshift. The Ford Consul Classic is a mid-sized car that was launched in May 1961 and built by Ford UK from 1961 to 1963. ![]()
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