Ford · 1970–1994

Ford Taunus TC

The Ford Taunus TC is a range of large family cars that were manufactured and marketed by Ford Germany across three generations from 1970 to 1982. The Taunus TC and Ford UK's Cortina range were rebadged variants of each other, the "TC" badge standing for Taunus Cortina. For all but the first generation (which had significant outer sheet metal differences), the two cars were identical apart from badging and trim.

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Predecessor: Ford Taunus P6 · Successor: Ford Sierra

All Ford Taunus TC data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

Taunus TC (1970–1975)

In September 1970, a new Taunus, the "Taunus Cortina" (TC), was introduced by Ford Germany. Ford offered a two or four door saloon and a five-door estate (identified as with previous Taunus estates, as the Taunus Turnier). Between 1970 and 1975, when the Taunus TC gave way to the Taunus TC2, a fashionable fastback coupé was also included in the Ford Taunus range. Unlike in Britain, Ford Germany saw a niche in the market for a more "sensible" coupé model than the Capri, which also meant that care was taken to retain as much as possible of the saloon's luggage and rear seat accommodations. Origins. The Ford Taunus TC series was conceived in the late 1960s to be a "world car" alongside its technical sibling the Cortina Mk III, with development and design work taking place on both sides of the Atlantic. The car was developed under the supervision of Semon E. "Bunkie" Knudsen, till February 1968 a high profile General Motors executive and from early 1968 till Autumn/Fall 1969 Ford's Dearborn-based chairman. The car is often nicknamed "Barock 2" (recalling the Taunus P2 series of the late 1950s, commonly known as the "Barock-Taunus") or "Knudsen-Taunus" in Germany, because of the prominent hood/bonnet scoop that, as the legend has it, was put there on direct order from Knudsen. Otherwise the major design work is rumoured to have been done by German car designer Luigi Colani, who later supplied design concepts for BMW's motorcycle division in the late 1970s. The lower end of the market segment previously occupied in Germany by the Ford Taunus P6 being targeted, since 1968, by the smaller Escort, the Taunus TC was presented as a slightly upmarket replacement for the P6 which ceased production in August 1970. The 2,578 mm (101.5 in) wheelbase of the new car was 51 mm (2.0 in) lo

Taunus TC2 (1976–1979)

At the end of November 1975, in time for the 1976 model year, production began of the Taunus series "GBTS", also known as the "Ford Taunus TC2". Cortina comparisons. Ford of Britain continued to sell the Cortina Mark III, the Dagenham produced version of the earlier Taunus TC, for more than half a year following the launch of the Taunus TC2, but in September 1976 the Cortina Mark IV was introduced in Britain, after which the Taunus TC2 and Cortina Mk IV were almost identical, apart from regional variations in terms of specification changes and trim levels. Internally, they were for the most part differentiated by the driving position: LHD (left-hand drive) cars were badged Taunus while RHD (right-hand drive) cars were badged Cortina, generally regardless of the country of assembly. However, where the German "Ford Taunus" name had no significant positive presence the "Ford Cortina" name was used in certain smaller LHD markets such as Greece, South Korea, Philippines, Israel (which took most of its LHD cars as Cortinas, sourced from the UK plant, till 1981) and Taiwan. The Taunus TC2 was essentially a "reskin" of the Taunus TC, and was in most markets presented as such. For Ford's Cortina buyers the reskin was a little more extensive, with the loss of the "coke-bottle" line which distinguished the Cortina Mk III from the 1976 Mk IV model, and promotional material in respect of the Cortina played up the differences between the Cortinas Mark III and IV. Updated bodywork. The Taunus TC2 retained an overall silhouette very similar to that of the Taunus TC, though actually all the principal outer body panels were newly shaped as were the rear window and side windows. Parking became a little easier now that the rear corners of the car were visible from the driver's seat. From o

Taunus TC3 (1979–1982)

When, in 1979, the Taunus TC3 (also known as the Taunus series "GBFS") replaced the Taunus TC2 the major components remained basically the same. In the UK Ford presented the facelifted car as the "Cortina Model 80", although it quickly became known, if only informally, as the Cortina Mk 5. Again, the 1979 differences tended to be played up more in respect of the Cortina badged car assembled in Dagenham than in respect of Ford Germany's Belgian assembled Taunus badged cars. Innovations in the engine compartment with the 1979 TC3 model included a new "Economy carburetor", manufactured in-house by Ford, which gave rise to many complaints. Minor bodywork modifications affected the base of the side windows which was very slightly lowered. Other changes visible from the outside included bumpers that now wrapped round along the sides of the car as far as the wheel arches. The roofline became slightly higher on 2-door and 4-door saloons. The rear light clusters were made substantially larger and adopted the same 'sawtooth' design being rolled out across the Ford range and also wrapped around the corners of the car sufficiently to be visible from the sides. There were only minor detail changes to the interior, with the dashboard remaining largely the same, but with centre air vents taking up the former position of the radio, which was moved down to an extended centre console. At the top of the range the choice of 2.3-litre engined cars was reduced with the delisting of the Ford Taunus Sport, but across the range it now became possible to specify an "S" options package which in essence comprised a stronger antiroll bar and firmer suspension. The end of European production. In July 1982 European production of the Taunus TC3/Cortina 80 ceased; it was replaced in October by the Ford

Production in Argentina and Turkey

The Taunus TC was produced in Argentina from 1974 up until the end of 1984 and in Turkey, by Otosan, from 1984 till 1994. Argentina. Before the launch of Argentinian production, the Taunus TC1 underwent a year of testing. Various critical chassis components were replaced with more robust equivalents due to the harsher roads of rural Argentina. Other components were re-sourced locally for reasons of availability, but most components for the Argentinian assembled cars still had to be imported from European Ford plants. One of the most significant technical differences is that the Argentine Taunus cars use Dana "Type 30" rear axles rather than the Atlas or Salisbury (according to engine size/torque) rear axles used by the European Taunus/Cortina. The Argentine models produced from 1974 were the "TC1" in four-door saloon versions (2000L, 2000GXL and 2300GXL) and the two-door fastback coupé (2300GT and 2300GT/SP) from 1974 to 1980. No Taunus TC estates or two-door saloons were produced in South America. The "TC2" (1976–1979) Taunus/Cortina was never produced in Argentina. Production switched directly in 1980 from the Taunus TC to the "TC3"/"Cortina 80". Both saloon (2.0 L, 2.3 Ghia and 2.3 Ghia S) and Coupé (2.3 GT, 2.3 SP and 2.3 SP5) were produced, though again the estate-bodied cars and the two-door saloons were excluded from the Argentinian line-up. As part of the 1980 upgrade, Ford introduced a face-lifted version of the "TC1" fastback coupé, since 1975 produced only in Argentina, featuring the TC3 nose and its own unique taillights layout. These post-1980 Argentine Taunus fastback coupés also featured improved performance and a refashioned interior: they used the name "Taunus SP" or "Taunus SP 5", the "5" referring to the five-speed manual gearbox now available as an

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Specifications

name: Ford Taunus TC
Manufacturer: Ford Germany
Production: 1970–1982 (Europe), 1977–1983 (South Korea), 1974–1984 (Argentina), 1984–1994 (Turkey)
Assembly: Belgium: Genk, South Korea: Ulsan (Hyundai), Argentina: General Pacheco (Ford Argentina), Turkey: Istanbul (Ford Otosan)
Predecessor: Ford Taunus 12M / 15M P6
Successor: Ford Sierra
Class: Large family car (D)
Body style: 2-/4-door saloon, 5-door "Turnier" estate car, 2-door coupé (1970–1975)
Engine: 1294 cm³ Pinto OHC I4 (1970–1982), 1593 cm³ Pinto OHC I4 (1970–1982), 1993 cm³ Pinto OHC I4 (1976–1982), 1999 cm³ Cologne V6 (1970–1982), 2293 cm³ Cologne V6 (1970–1982)
Transmission: 4-speed manual all-synchromesh, 3-speed automatic (optional at extra cost)
Length: 4340 –
Width: 1700 –
Height: 1362 –
Kerb weight: 1480 – (laden)
Wheelbase: 2579 mm