Ford Taunus
Named for the mountain range in Germany, the Taunus was a family car first manufactured by Ford’s German division in 1939. Aesthetically, the Taunus went through a number of slight design variations (with the models hitting the market after 1970 styled after the Ford Cortina, which was popular in Great Britain at the time) before ultimately being discontinued in 1994.
History of the Ford Taunus
The first edition of the Taunus -- the G93A -- was released in 1939, as something of an improvement on Ford’s pre-existing Eifel model. The two used the same 1172cc engine, but the Taunus boasted a longer chassis allowing for a much more streamlined body. Although production was temporarily (1942-1948) halted due to the Second World War, it is believed that 74,128 of the original Taunus were produced in Germany.
Following the conclusion of the original G-series in 1952, Ford underwent a 16-year period of iterative design known as the M-series, during which the Taunus model name was ubiquitous across all Fords produced in Germany. Across this time, we saw the 12M, 15M, 17M, 20M and 26M models (with the numbers corresponding to the engine displacement in terms of cc) become available for purchase. The 12/15/17 made use of a straight-4 engine, with the initial 12M units directly inheriting the sidevalve style from the original G-series cars, before this was replaced by an overhead design much like that used in the British Ford Consul beginning with the 15M.
Later models of the Taunus utilised the Ford Cologne V6 engine, which added two extra cylinders, and ranged between 1.8 litres (as in the 17M 1800 model) up to 2.3 litres (the 20M 2300S, part of the manufacturer’s P7 series). In terms of drive configuration, smaller models (such as the 12M and the 15M) offered front wheel drive, with rear wheel drive issued as standard in all other models.
Special Editions of the Ford Taunus
Whilst its status as a family car meant that commemorative or unique editions of the Taunus were not produced in ways similar to other models, there are still some variations to the norm that warrant a mention. Between 1972 and 1984, production of the Taunus was handled in Argentina; one can easily identify an Argentinian Taunus (such as the 2300GT coupe) from the unique bumpers. Following the conclusion of the Argentinian production, the production assembly was sold to Turkey for manufacture of the Otosan Taunus, these models are easily distinguishable from their German counterparts as they make use of remoulded front and back panels.
The Taunus was also notable for its appearance in the 1977 James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me, with Roger Moore’s secret agent being chased by one down the roads of Sardinia.