A world away from the aero shapes of the later Sierra and Scorpio, this 1980 Ford Taunus is a remainder from an earlier era. The Sierra shared more than a few dirty bits with it, but the outward appearances are distinctly different. This was a solid old-world Ford, and still a Cortina by any other name.

Sky blue, it stood out nicely on the cobblestone street that shows the spring advancing. As the snow slowly disappears, quirkier cars will again reappear with anticipation for the coming summer.

Rocking auxiliary headlights that are almost as large as the originals next to them, the front is all square.

There is a hint of a coke-bottle shape on the side profile, and the glasshouse is almost Pagodian. There’s a pronouced waterline down low, with a strong wheelarch shoulder that splits the car in half. Some Taunuses (Tauni?) were two-tone, and a lot more were after rust repairs were performed on a budget and only the lower half of the flanks resprayed.

I’m liking the Mangels rally wheels, complete with a brightwork lip and shod with a set of Gislaved NordFrost tires. These wheels were quintessential late-70s, early ’80s ’round here.

This Taunus has the 1.6-litre OHC Pinto engine, good for 71 hp. It’s also the base “L” version, which must’ve had steerable front wheels as standard and nothing else on it.

Surprisingly enough, there’s no tow bar.

All in all, this Taunus looks like a handsome survivor and there mustn’t be a reason why it wouldn’t cruise the streets for years to come. Taunuses have already passed the boy racer phase; they were popular hoonmobiles in the ’80s and ’90s, and after that point all the beaten ones slowly died and ended up crushed. The ones doing daily driving these days have been well-kept from the beginning, and old guys’ old Taunuses pop up for sale every now and then with low mileage. Parts availability must be reasonable, and they make a nice starter classic for a nice price.

Images: Copyright 2012 Hooniverse/Antti Kautonen