Page "Ford Cortina" Paragraph 134

From 1971, the Cortina formed the basis of the Ford P100 pick-up truck, which was produced in South Africa, purely for that market.

The vehicle had a six foot load bed with a locally sourced rear body.

In the mid 1970's grey imports of this model to the UK spurred Ford to examine the market for official import.

The study culminated in the P100 which was a heavily revised version of the SA product with a seven foot loadbed and T88 " Pinto " engine.

The vehicle was for RHD markets only and was developed under the codename " Atlas " to reflect its market leading one tonne payload capability.

Other markets within Ford's European operation also wanted the vehicle, so when time came for a follow on product it was decided to source it from a European plant.

The politics of South Africa at the time playing a role as by then Ford South Africa was placed at arm's length via the SAMCOR.

All production of the European engineered and Sierra bodied P100, codename PE45 was produced for Europe in the Azambuja plant inPortugal.

This vehicle was available in RHD and LHD forms.

Ironically, the MK5 Cortina based P100 was launched in 1982, the year that the standard Cortina was being replaced by the Sierra.

However, it remained a popular choice with pick-up truck buyers until the Sierra-based P100 was launched in 1988 ; this version lasted until the end of Sierra production in early 1993.