A significant piece of Australian motor sport history

1965 Ford Cortina GT500

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The relatively humble Cortina dominated motor sport worldwide but no more so than in Australia where it won the first Armstrong 500 at Bathurst in 1963 followed by consecutive victories in 1964 and 1965.

As the competition got hotter, so did the Cortina GT. The Lotus Cortina's complexity and import costs ruled it out as an accessible Bathurst racer so Ford and Harry Firth developed the Cortina GT 500, the first Bathurst homologation special to win Bathurst and the spiritual successor to the Falcon GT-HO models.

The GT 500 could be picked by its long range fuel tank with twin fillers at the base of the rear screen, front brake scoops, its Lotus Elan-type close-ratio gearbox and extra suspension tweaks. Further engine mods including camshaft, cylinder head, larger carburettor and higher compression delivered extra power and allowed it to rev higher. The Cortina GT's distinctive parallel side strips and the tiny 500 badges next to the rear GT badges had serious street cred at the time.

(taken from the Ford Performance Vehicles website)

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