Ford Cortina restomod with Zetec engine for sale

So it probably hasn’t been the best launch for the new Ford Capri. Not only do its name and heritage seem rather odd for an electric coupe SUV – the suggestion of the Explorer Sport as a name seems particularly wise now – the obsession with it has meant that attention has been diverted from Ford’s biggest drawcard in its Festival of Speed ​​range. That, of course, was the Mustang GTD, which promises to be something truly spectacular. Not many people seem to have noticed.

Time to retreat, then, into the warm embrace of nostalgia, into the old Fords we know and love. Chances are we’re all feeling a little vulnerable this Monday in particular, whatever way the football has gone, so we’ll lead you into the week with a Blue Oval classic that only offers welcome surprises. It would have to be a Capri, of course, and there are a couple of glorious Turbo Technics V6s available on PH – perhaps those can wait a little longer, for £25k and £30k respectively. Because the more this Cortina is looked at, for half the price of the latter, the better it seems.

A late Mk5 – 1982 was the last year of production – the Cortina might not be the obvious choice for the restomod treatment, or whatever the better phrase now is for giving an old car a bit of modernity. The really sporty ones had arrived earlier in the ‘tina’s life, with the smaller, lighter Escort and Fiesta perhaps the most obvious choices for a retro hot rod. Not to mention the Sierra that succeeded the Cortina the year after it was made. Still, that’s the joy of modifying – you do exactly what you want to whatever car you want. And so we have a Mk5 Cortina Ghia, a very nicely presented example at that, powered by a 2.0-litre Zetec. That means just over 150bhp, complete with a dash of individual throttle bodies, a lot more power than any standard Cortina engine of old. And more usable in a modern context too, that’s for sure. It is mated to a Ford MT75 five-speed transmission.

There’s much more to this than just a cool engine swap, though. An upgrade to a five-stud hub setup means that Granada wheels now fit (and look fantastic), with bigger brakes and ABS sitting behind them. There’s power steering and a very smartly updated interior, with an RS four-spoke wheel and a pair of delicious Recaros. There’s no mention of any suspension work in the advert, but given the mods done elsewhere and the way it sits on those Granny wheels, it’d be a surprise to see it still sitting on standard springs and dampers.

Add all that to a rather nice exterior, with perfect paintwork, the blackest bumpers and the Ghia badging still in place, and it’s easy to see why this might be interesting. It’s hard enough to find a late Cortina of any stripe these days, given how many have succumbed to rust, scrap or, er, banger racing, let alone one with a well-thought-out package of upgrades. So this one is very intriguing indeed.

It’s said to have been rebuilt 20 years ago, when the modern restomod hadn’t really come into its own and classics could be modified because they were plentiful and cheap, but the Cortina was in the magazine back in 2009. This isn’t a freshly built build with teething problems that any new owner would worry about. This Zetec conversion has certainly been loved and enjoyed, otherwise it wouldn’t look so good for a 42-year-old car. Thanks to the efforts of previous owners, it looks set to get many happy miles, and offers that dream combination of retro style and modern performance that no one can get enough of these days. And all for £15,000. Enough to make that new Capri completely forgotten, I’m sure.