As well as being the car from the Sweeney, the Consul is where Ford UK’s gradual loss of independence began.
The nameplate came from an earlier line of British Fords, indicating a lower level of accoutrification. It also masked the German Ford input to the line of cars better known as Granadas. Gradually Ford UK built fewer models: the Granada was followed by the Cortina, Escort and Fiesta. Now the Mondeo is a US-EU effort. It kicked off here.
The colour is original and is very attractive.
What caught my attention is the very sharp corners of the shutlines: bonnet and door. Would rounded ones as on aeroplanes not have provided greater strength? The owner of this rather grand vehicle runs an XM as a daily driver, as far as I know.
There’s an excuse for that sometimes.
Aarhus received some Porsche owners this weekend. I watched an elderly 60’s model try to start, which it did after a few turns. They always do.
This photo-series is the work of Mick who kindly sent me the images. The name of the car is almost as long as the production run. From 1974 to…
…1983. Making this example one of the last made. The estate versions carried on for another year. It’s a series 3 Fiat 131 Supermirafiori with a 2.0 litre twin-cam engine, hence the T/C label tucked on the side at the rear. Ten years: that’s a long time in car design and the ten years from 1974 to 1983 were a tumultuous time in the wider world.
The oil crises and general economic malaise added to the miseries of Italy’s Years of Lead. Over its long life the 131 had to Continue reading “A Photoseries for Sunday: 1983 Fiat 131 Supermirafiori 2000 TC”
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