Ford Cortina II Lotus vs Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV: twin-cam tearaways

By Simon Hucknall

| 25 Jan 2024

Classic & Sports Car – Ford Cortina II Lotus vs Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV: twin-cam tearaways

If you had been at Oliver’s Mount for the final round of the Castrol/BARC Hill Climb Championship in 1970, you would have been high on not only the heady mixture of bracing North Sea air and the sweet aroma of Castrol R racing oil, but also the eclectic programme of road-based competition cars.

Triumph Spitfires and TR5s, TVR 1800s, Austin-Healey Sprites and Jaguar E-types would have been vying for end-of-season honours at the Scarborough course.

Save a solitary Porsche 911, everything trackside had been homespun – a scenario that would inevitably have played out in the spectators’ car park, too, with foreign-built models making up just 10% of the vehicles on Britain’s roads at the time.

The swoopy Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV (right) is seven inches shorter than the comparatively boxy Ford Cortina II Lotus

But in 1970 the tide was turning, and while a Ford Cortina II Lotus would still have been as familiar a sight as string-backed driving gloves, junior exotica such as the 105-series Alfa Romeo GT Veloce was starting to gain popularity among well-heeled enthusiasts keen to explore automotive talent from beyond the UK’s shores.

The 1750 GTV was launched in 1967, arriving a year after the Cortina II Lotus, and although the Ford would be drawing its last breaths in the UK market by the time of that season-ending event, new-car buyers would still have had the choice between Dagenham’s hot-around-the-blue-collar Cortina or its suave Milanese rival.

Of course, budget would have ruled out the Alfa for many, with it costing nearly twice as much as the £1266 Ford at £2300.

The Ford Cortina II Lotus has good front-end grip and an inclination to oversteer when pushed

But price aside, a lingering suspicion of anything not home-grown may still have pushed some towards the sporting Cortina.

So was the GTV really worth two Lotus-fettled Cortinas? To find out, we’ve brought both cars back to Oliver’s Mount to settle the score.

The more observant will already have spotted that the Alfa representative is, in fact, a very early 2000 GTV, which succeeded the 1750 model in 1971.

We’ll look at what changes the 2000 brought shortly, but fundamentally it marked an evolution of the 1750 rather than any kind of sea-change, so the comparison with the Cortina remains a valid one.

The Cortina’s Lotus badge eventually gave way to ‘Twin Cam’ script, as Ford tried to cut back on the ties to Hethel

Both the 1750 and 2000 GTV’s design dated back to 1963, when it appeared as the 1600 Giulia Sprint GT.

Styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone, the pretty two-plus-two body had shades of his earlier 2000/2600 Sprint and was based around a shortened Giulia saloon platform.

The Sprint GT morphed into the Sprint GTV (V for ‘Veloce’) three years later and then to the 1750 GTV in 1967.

With the larger engine displacement (from 1570cc to 1779cc) came a move away from the previous ‘step-front’ bonnet design and a refreshed cabin, with new, large speedo and rev-counter dials ahead of the driver, and the ancillaries in the centre stack.

The Twin Cam engine got a small power boost over the Lotus Cortina, to 109bhp

There were minor revisions to the chassis, too, including the fitment of a rear anti-roll bar and, from 1970, dual-circuit brakes.

‘Our’ 2000 was the final iteration of the 105-series coupé, with the last cars built in 1976.

While heavily based on the 1750, its engine’s capacity grew by 183cc to 1962cc with a 4mm increase in bore, and power rose by 13bhp to 131bhp, with torque up from 125lb ft to 134lb ft.

With a top speed of 120mph, the 2000 was only fractionally faster than the 1750, although its 0-60mph dropped from 11.2 secs to a decidedly rapid 9.2 secs.

Most Ford Cortina II Lotus customers opted for the Sherwood Green side flash, applied by local dealers

Other than that, changes were largely visual: a new grille with horizontal bars incorporating the Alfa shield; larger tail-light clusters; and inside, a revised instrument panel that brought the 1750’s central dials to driver’s-eye level.

But no matter the model, the basic 105-series recipe remained unchanged during its 13-year life.

Power came from the Giuseppe Busso-designed, all-alloy, twin-cam, twin-carb in-line ‘four’, of varying capacities, with a five-speed gearbox driving the rear wheels, solid disc brakes all round and independent double-wishbone front suspension, with a live axle suspended by trailing arms and coils at the back.

Short gear ratios give the Ford Cortina II Lotus some punch

It was an advanced and, to a degree, race-ready package adapted for the road, and few rivals could match it.

Including the Cortina II Lotus? We’ll see.

With the Mk1 Lotus Cortina, Ford had already fired a shot across the bows of its mainstream competition by cleverly aligning its humdrum brand with a highly successful and popular motorsport powerhouse.

The fact that Lotus was largely responsible for the end product, which went on to be proven on circuits around Britain and Europe, and piloted by the cream of the crop of the 1960s drivers, added still more panache to the model’s image.

The cabin of the Ford Cortina II Lotus has a cheaper feel, but it’s sporty and the driving position is good

But it came at a price. While the Mk1 Lotus Cortina was highly bespoke – at least in its early guise – the production costs were high and overall durability low.

Ford had already swapped the Cortina’s novel rear A-frame arrangement for the GT’s leaf springs and started using steel body panels, instead of lightweight aluminium, to both save cost and improve reliability.

There was also a concern that buyers were starting to associate the good parts of the hottest Cortina with Lotus and the bad bits with Ford.

The Ford has a four-speed gearbox and a busy dashboard

So when Lotus announced it was moving from nearby Cheshunt to Hethel in Norfolk, it gave Ford the perfect excuse to bring Cortina II Lotus production in-house.

The first Ford Cortina II Lotus rolled off an all-new Dagenham production line after the factory’s summer break in 1966.

Based around the slightly shorter but wider Cortina Mk2 body, designed by Roy Haynes, the Lotus version was built on a lowered Cortina GT platform, thereby doing away with the Mk1’s bespoke struts, cast track-control arms and reverse-eye rear springs.

The Ford Cortina II Lotus does more than enough to keep keen drivers engaged

A strengthened two-door GT bodyshell was used, with reinforced strut-tops and double-skinned rear chassis rails, and the front arches rolled to accept wider wheels.

Under the bonnet, Ford’s 1558cc iron-block Kent ‘four’, with its Harry Mundy/Cosworth-developed twin-cam cylinder head, fed by twin Weber carburettors, was carried over from the Mk1 Lotus Cortina, with a small increase in power to 109bhp; the unit’s only visual difference was a redesigned air-filter housing.

Inside, the Cortina II Lotus was all but identical to the GT, apart from a rather natty three-spoke steering wheel borrowed from the Cortina 1600E and a bespoke tacho (red-zoned between 6500 and 8000rpm) and speedo (reading to 140mph, some 36mph over its real-world top speed).

As production moved in-house, Ford had more say over the second-generation, Lotus-fettled Cortina

The shared content with the GT was also a deliberate ploy to de-emphasise links with Lotus, even though the company continued to market the model as the ‘Cortina Lotus’ in Britain.

Nothing summed this up better than when the Cortina II Lotus was available from launch with the GT’s extensive colour palette.

For the first time, buyers could specify their car in Dragoon Red, Seafoam Blue or Spruce Green, among many other hues (in reality, an estimated 80% of buyers still plumped for Ermine White and paid extra for their dealer to apply a Sherwood Green side flash).

‘Parked next to the Alfa Romeo [right], the Ford Cortina II Lotus has a scaled-down NASCAR look about it’

Ford went a stage further a few months later, when even the Lotus badge on the rear panel was replaced by one with a ‘Twin Cam’ script.

And in 1968, among a plethora of minor revisions, ‘Ford’ lettering appeared on the bonnet and boot.

It was fair to say that, finally, this particular Cortina was more Ford than Lotus.

And having recently driven a Mk1 Lotus Cortina, I’d say Ford probably achieved its goal with the car I’m now sitting in, overlooking the finish line at Oliver’s Mount.

The Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV was an evolution of the 1750 GTV

Parked next to the Alfa, the Cortina has a scaled-down NASCAR look about it: upright and quite conservatively styled, but with its lowered ride height and wide 5.5J x 13in steel rims it has a tough, four-square stance that isn’t unappealing and would certainly have found favour with the hillclimbers at this track half a century ago.

Inside, the driving position is excellent, with a near-vertical, leather-rimmed steering wheel before you and pedals with no offset housed in a broad, carpet-trimmed footwell.

Our test car is a late 1970 model, so not only does it have its minor dials – amps, oil, water temperature and fuel – set high above the heater controls instead of on the centre stack, it also has the 1600E’s slicker-shifting single-rail four-speed gearbox.

The Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV is composed and easy to place on the road

What lets down the well-equipped cabin are its mediocre build and material quality – typical of almost any Ford from this period – despite our test car having undergone a comprehensive restoration.

But fire up the Cortina’s Twin Cam and such niggles are set aside.

Even at idle, its lumpy burble has you grinning, and once under way, after the warbling Webers have cleared their throats, the snarling soundtrack is that of a pure ’60s club racer.

Later Alfa Romeo GTVs have horizontal grille bars

Short gearing gives the Cortina a willing responsiveness on the hillclimb track, borne out by a respectable 0-60mph time of 11 secs, versus a 1750’s 11.2 secs (although it’s slower off the line than the 2000).

But out on the A64 it feels slightly breathless at cruising speeds and, combined with the sparsely trimmed and meagrely insulated cabin, progress is noisy.

Handling is marred somewhat by the steering, which is vague off the straight-ahead and lacks caster, meaning almost no self-centring out of turns (which may have been a quirk of this particular car).

Alfa Romeo’s twin-cam engine grew to 1962cc for the 2000 GTV

But in general, the Ford’s body control is tight for a ’60s car, and it’s nicely balanced, with strong front-end grip and a tendency to oversteer when pushing, even on our impromptu test track’s tighter corners.

Overall, the Ford offers what you’d expect: an honest if pretty raw driving experience, which, for a certain type of driver, would hit the mark every time.

Unless, that is, they approached the Alfa immediately afterwards.

The classic Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV retains its composure despite some body roll

Even ‘our’ car’s subtle hearing-aid beige can’t disguise the drama of Bertone’s rakish bodywork: the GTV looks more set to climb the Col de Turini than Oliver’s Mount.

It’s seven inches shorter and the same width as the Cortina, manifested in its less capacious cabin – especially in the rear, where legroom is compromised.

Subjectively, though, it’s instantly more enticing.

Like in the Cortina, you drop down on to a nicely bolstered vinyl seat, although here the facings are ribbed rather than perforated, with elegant head restraints on the front seats.

The Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV has an elegant wood-rimmed steering wheel, but the floor-mounted pedals need some familiarisation

Matching trim adorns the door cards, where there was bare metal in the Ford, and the quality of that trim is of a higher grade.

Facing you is a deeply dished, wood-rimmed steering wheel with a horn button in each spoke, framing a skeletal but attractive four-dial layout, with a large rev counter (incorporating an oil-pressure gauge) and speedometer flanking secondary clocks for fuel and water temperature.

A longish, chrome-topped gearlever sprouts from the centre console, which also houses the heater controls set into its wood-effect trim.

The Alfa Romeo’s five-speed gearbox is smoother than the Ford’s short-shifting unit

In short, the Alfa’s interior is elegantly designed and contoured, compared with the pared-down, more workaday cabin of the Ford.

That impression continues when you turn the GTV’s key.

With twin Webers and twin cams, the soundtrack at idle is similar to the Ford’s, if more subdued.

Floor-mounted pedals take some getting used to, and to avoid adopting a long-armed driving position you tend to sit with knees bent; the Cortina has the Alfa licked here.

Alfa Romeo’s famed serpent crest on the 2000 GTV

Pull away and the Alfa’s gearchange is smoother and more delicate, with a longer throw than the Ford’s short-shifting, more mechanical-feeling ’box.

Rolling refinement is in another league, with sufficient cabin insulation for occupants to contemplate long Alpine schleps.

If they did, they’d find the Alfa to be composed yet biddable in the twisties.

Like in the Ford, there’s some body roll as you press on, but the GTV is more composed – especially if you hit mid-corner surface imperfections – and feels less as if the body is pivoting around its front end.

The Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV’s limited-slip differential helps in slower turns

It also scores on the tight switchbacks of Oliver’s Mount by having a standard limited-slip diff, avoiding unnecessary inner-wheel spin on the exits.

That said, while the Alfa’s recirculating-ball steering is better damped and generally more confidence-inspiring than the Ford’s, it never fully engages in the way you’d expect.

But the Alfa’s crowning glory is its engine: sonorous in its upper reaches, it begs to be extended towards the tacho’s surprisingly conservative 5700rpm redline, and thanks to well-chosen ratios it’s easy to keep the motor percolating at optimum revs, no matter what the terrain.

The Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV (closest) is the quieter and more refined car at a cruise, and would be a more amenable companion than the Ford on longer journeys

But would that have added up to a car worth twice the price of a Ford Cortina II Lotus?

Based on this appraisal, the answer would have to be ‘yes’.

Even in 1750 guise, the GTV would have been more complete: more sophisticated inside and out, with a better-resolved drivetrain and superior dynamics. How could it not be?

But if you only had half the money to buy a new car, the Cortina II Lotus would still earn you the respect of those Oliver’s Mount spectators half a century ago.

And that would definitely be a price worth paying.

Images: Max Edleston

Thanks to: Classic & Sportscar Centre in Malton; Oliver’s on the Mount Café and Bar

Factfiles

Ford Cortina II Lotus

Sold/number built 1966-’70/4093
Construction steel unitary
Engine iron-block, alloy-head, dohc 1558cc ‘four’, twin Weber 40 DCOE carburettors
Max power 109bhp @ 6000rpm
Max torque 104lb ft @ 4000rpm
Transmission four-speed manual, RWD
Suspension: front independent, by MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar rear live axle, leaf springs, radius arms, telescopic dampers
Steering recirculating ball
Brakes discs front, drums rear, with servo
Length 14ft (4267mm)
Width 5ft 2in (1574mm)
Height 4ft 5in (1346mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 2in (2489mm)
Weight 2016lb (914kg)
Mpg 24
0-60mph 11 secs
Top speed 104mph
Price new £1266 (1970)
Price now £25-50,000*

Alfa Romeo 2000 GTV

Sold/number built 1971-’76/37,459
Construction steel unitary
Engine all-alloy, dohc 1962cc ‘four’, twin Weber 40 DCOE carburettors
Max power 131bhp @ 5500rpm
Max torque 134lb ft @ 3000rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, RWD
Suspension: front independent, by double wishbones rear live axle, trailing arms, A-bracket; coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar f/r
Steering recirculating ball
Brakes discs, with twin servos
Length 13ft 5in (4089mm)
Width 5ft 2in (1575mm)
Height 4ft 3in (1295mm)
Wheelbase 7ft 8in (2336mm)
Weight 2301lb (1044kg)
Mpg 21.1
0-60mph 9.2 secs
Top speed 120mph
Price new £2433 (1972)
Price now £15-50,000*