Taunus 12m

After Yuri Gagarin made a successful space trip around the Earth in 1961, US President Kennedy promised to be the first country in the world to put a man on the Moon. That would take another eight years. But someone at Ford came up with the idea of ​​having their latest model, the Taunus 12m, cover the shortest Earth-Moon distance non-stop. And it worked.

Miramas

On November 29, 1963, a badly battered Taunus 12m stopped at the pit stop of the southern French circuit of Miramas. The car was barely recognizable, it looked so dirty, dented and battered. But he had covered the distance from Earth to the Moon with six drivers in 142 days, 356.430 kilometers, 71.443 laps around the track.

Along the way, 108 world records were broken, including the highest average speed of 106 kilometers per hour. But it had been a hellish undertaking. On a cold October night, at 284.275 kilometers, one of the drivers had fallen asleep and had gone off the road, with the car flipping over several times. Due to the regulations, repairs were only allowed to be carried out with the tools on board, which took 11 hours. The car was literally knocked back into drivable shape with the jack and wheel wrench. And could continue.

From that moment on, the windows of new Taunussen appeared with stickers with 'Weltrekord' '356.000 km non-stop'. For customers who asked whether front-wheel drive was reliable. The Miramas-Taunus was 100% standard, as every customer bought it. It was even the simplest version with the weakest engine, 1200cc, 40 hp.

Project Cardinal

What was that Ford Taunus 12m? His cradle was in Dearborn, the American parent company where plans had been developed in the late 50s for an ultra-compact car to compete with European imports, especially the Volkswagen. To excel technically, the car had to be front-wheel drive.

Front-wheel drive was somewhat shunned by most automakers. Citroën and Renault were good at it and so were DKW and IFA, but they had already mastered the complex game of drive shafts, combined with steering wheels, and all the forces acting on them. In England, BMC had just started, and their Mini was a success. It was unknown territory for Ford. Saab used DKW technology. That is why six Saabs were purchased, which could be experimented with to your heart's content.

One of the difficulties in those early years was the engine placement. In a front-wheel drive car, the gearbox is not half under the passenger compartment, but transversely in the front. Either in front of the engine, or behind a very far forward, very short engine. The Saab had room for the three-cylinder two-stroke, but not for a four-cylinder four-stroke in-line engine. An ultra-compact V4 was therefore chosen for the Cardinal.

To keep the block as small as possible, it was given a block angle of 60 degrees instead of the usual 90 degrees. That was not ideal for the interval of power strokes, so a balance shaft was added next to the camshaft, to keep vibrations to a minimum.

Taunus 12m

In 1959 Ford USA pulled the plug. Their Falcon would remain the cheapest, simplest car. In the US, there was insufficient clientele for the ultra-compact Cardinal. The entire design was awarded to Ford Cologne, where the body and technology were made ready for production and appeared at the IAA in Frankfurt in 1962 as Taunus 12m. Mind you, not like Ford. Ford was the manufacturer, Taunus was the brand.

That was just in time to challenge arch rival Opel, who put their brand new Kadett in the showroom that same year. The old Taunus 12m / 15m P1, which had seen the light of day as a 'globe' in 1952, was in dire need of replacement. The 12m even had a pre-war side valve engine.

The new Taunus was a sight to behold: it was noticeably larger than the Kadett and the Beetle, looked more mature and was more stable on the road with its front-wheel drive. On the other hand, the Kadett offered the same interior space for less money and even a slightly larger trunk, its 1000 cc engine delivered the same 40 hp, felt more lively, ran quieter and was more economical. With its mass of 685 kilos, the Kadett was also cheaper in road tax and more economical and cheaper to maintain. In the years that followed, the Kadett would still achieve the highest sales figures of the two.

Already in the first year, in addition to the standard version, a 15m could also be delivered with a 1500cc engine, which delivered 50 hp. After another year there was a very nice coupé and a TS version of 65 hp. See, they didn't like that at Opel.

Technique

Under the hood, the engine placed far forward stood out, where the color of the valve covers betrayed which engine type it was. Gray was of course the 40 hp standard engine, blue the stronger 50 hp version and red the 65 hp Touring Sport. With the four well-chosen gears (operated at the steering column), the Fords clearly mastered the Kadett in the mountains. There was a lack of space under the hood. That's why two small radiators were built in: one was in the front left of the engine compartment, the other was against the bulkhead and served as a heater. The heating slide actuated a valve that discharged the hot air under the car in the summer. This could lead to a moving oven if the valve stopped functioning properly. It was the only car where the cooling system was topped up via the heater.

And this Taunus had a rarity that showed its American origin: the teardrop-shaped taillights contained one light. A duplex light that served as a taillight and a brake light at the same time. The brake light flashed when the turn signal was operated. A purely American system. The steering wheel with its deep hub also looked a bit un-European.

To sell

650.000 Taunus 12m P4 left the showroom between 1962 and 1966. In 1965 the Opel Kadett B had appeared, which would become an even more formidable competitor. That is why in 1966 Ford came out with the technically virtually unchanged, but more modern and slightly more spacious Taunus 12m and 15m P6, which would last until 1970. From 1968 there was the 'small' Ford Escort and from 1970 the 'big' Taunus TC1 which also replaced the British Cortina and Corsair. The front-wheel drive, with which Ford distinguished itself ten years earlier, was put on hold until 1976.

Saab 96 V4

And what had happened to those six Saabs in the meantime? The American Saab importer sent them back to Trolhättan in Sweden, after he was delighted to discover that Ford had left the beautiful new V4 engines in them. Saab promptly offered the 95 (station), 96 (sedan) and 97 (Sonnett) with this new V4 engine, in addition to the old well-known three-cylinder, which was in the price list until 1968. The sympathetic Saab 96 V4 would continue to find loyal customers until 1980.

Classic

As a classic, the Taunus 12m is popular and affordable. It is a typical child of its time. Many of them have been preserved. The quality is high, as we are used to from Ford Cologne. The engines are proverbially reliable. The weak points are limited to wear on the drive shafts (note the dust covers and the lubrication points), oil leakage on the fuel pump flange. And yes, the plastic timing gears can wear out quickly and make the engine sing, then growl and finally dance.

The Köln V4 evaluated from 1965 to V6 and would have a very long life in that form. Until well into the 6s, the V50 engines were for sale in Taunus, Capri, Granada, as well as in a number of American Fords. Who would have thought that a rejected American project of the late 1963s would play such a big role in Europe. He has aged nicely, this Taunus. And the poor wreck that became world champion 108 times in XNUMX… it still exists. In running condition.

Also read:
- Taunus 12M P4
- The Taunus 12M P4. German model with American design history.
- Ford Granada 2.0 V6 L. Driving a sublime classic
- Ford Escort Mk 3. Momentary love, lasting sympathy
- Opel Kadett. The Return of the Kadett