A superb and rare photo of Peter Huth and Iain Grant in their Lotus Ford Cortina Mk2 during one of the heaviest car racing events in the world: the Safari Rally. This magnificent photograph was taken during the extraordinary heavy 1968 edition.

Huth and Grant finished a magnificent 2ND overall with the photographed Lotus.

The Lotus-Cortina Mk 2 was a high-performance car, the result of collaboration between Ford and Lotus. The Mk 2 was introduced in 1968as the successor of the Mk 1. Ford wanted to change a few things for the Mk2, the Mk1 had done all and more than they could expect in competition, but the public linked its competition wins with Lotus and its bad points with Ford. Ford still wanted to build a mk2 Lotus and compete with it, but Lotus were moving from Cheshunt to Hethel so it was a bad time for them to build another model. Ford were also concerned with the unreliability of the Lotus built cars. So a decision was made at Ford that to continue with its competition drive and make the car more cost effective they would make the car at Dagenham themselves, alongside the other Cortinas. So the Mk2 had to be much easier to build than the Mk1 so it could be done alongside Mk2 GT production, just with a different engine and suspension. The Mk2 took a while to appear, 1st appearing in 1967. The main difference being the choice of colours and the lack of a stripe, although most had them fitted at Ford dealers at extra cost. The only cosmetic changes made was a black front grille, 5.5J x 13 steel wheels and lotus badges on rear wings and by the rear number plate. The badge on the front grille was an option at first. Unlike the Mk1 the Mk2 was made in left hand drive from the start of production. The Mk2 Lotus Cortinas also gained an improved and more powerful (109 bhp (81 kW/111 PS)) engine, which used to be supplied as the special equipment engine optional on Lotus Elan and the Lotus Cortina Mk1. The gearbox ratios remained 2000E ones but the car now used the Mk2 GT remote-control gearchange. The car also had a different final drive of 3.77:1 rather than 3.9:1. The Mk2 was a wider car than the Mk1 so although they look the same the steel wheels had a different offset so as not to upset the tracking, radial tyres were now standard. Another attraction was the larger fuel tank used in the Mk2. The spare wheel could now be mounted in its wheel well, but the battery remained in the boot to aid weight distribution. The only real difference to the engine bay was the air cleaner mounted on top of the engine. The interior was almost identical to a GT. The Mk2 did exactly what Ford wanted, it was far more reliable whilst still quick enough to be used in competition, until it handed over to the twin cam escorts. The car did have a few updates but none as urgent as the Mk1's. Only a few months after production started the lotus badge on the rear panel was canceled and a new TWIN-CAM badge was fitted under the Cortina script on the boot lid. The new combined clock and center console was fitted. In late 1968 the entire Mk2 range had some cosmetic changes, for the Lotus this meant that the 4 dials on top of the dash were brought down and made part of the dash. An internal bonnet release and a more conventional mounting for the handbrake were also phased in. A new single-rail gearshift mechanism was used. The car stayed in production until 1970.

Initially, to homologate the Lotus Cortina Mk 1 car for Group 2, 1000 were required to be built in 1963, and the car was duly homologated in September 1963. Like the Mk2 , the Mk1 was dominantly a racing car. In the same month, in the car's first outing, in the Oulton Park Gold Cup, the car finished 3rd and 4th behind two Ford Galaxies, but beat the 3.8 litre Jaguars which had been dominant in saloon car racing for so long. Soon Ford were running cars in Britain, Europe, and the USA, with Team Lotus running cars in Britain for Ford, and Alan Mann Racing running cars in Europe, also on behalf of Ford. Lotus-Cortinas turned out to be able to beat most anything except the 7 litre V8 Ford Galaxies, and later in the piece, Ford Mustangs. In 1964 a Lotus-Cortina leading around a bend with its inside front wheel in fresh air became a familiar sight, as the cars were set up with soft rear suspension and a hard front end. Jim Clark won the British Saloon Car Championship easily, in the USA Jackie Stewart and Mike Beckwith won the Malboro 12-hour, and Alan Mann Racing also performed well in the European Touring Car Championship, including a 1-2 victory in the 'Motor' Six Hour International Touring Car Race at Brands Hatch. A Boreham-built car also won its class, came 4th outright, and won the handicap section, in the 4000 mile 10-day Tour de France. Other Lotus-Cortina achievements included the Austrian Saloon Car Championship, the South African National Saloon Championship, the Swedish Ice Championship, and the Wills Six-Hour in New Zealand. 1965 saw the Lotus-Cortina winning everything in sight, the car being more competitive due to the increased reliability of the new leaf spring rear end. Sir John Whitmore dominated and won the European Touring Car Championship, Jack Sears won his class in the British Saloon Car Championship (a Mustang won outright), Jackie Ickx won the Belgian Saloon Car Championship, and a Lotus-Cortina won the New Zealand Gold Star Saloon Car Championship. Other wins were the Nürburgring Six-Hour race, the Swedish National Track Championship, and the Snetterton 500. In 1966 Team Lotus registered new cars for the new series of the British Saloon Car Championship, which ran up to Group 5, as regulations had been changed. Fuel-injection and dry sumping were allowed, and with Lucas injection and tuning by BRM, the engines could put out 180 bhp (130 kW/180 PS) at 7750 rpm, increasing their ability to stay with the Mustangs. The cars also had the McPherson struts replaced with coil-springs and shockers and a revised wishbone geometry. 8 class wins were racked up, many at the hands of Jim Clark. In the European Touring Car Championship, Sir John Whitmore pulled off another 4 wins, but that wasn't enough to give him the title, as Alfa Romeo had been doing their homework with the Giulia GTAs.

This is a very nice and very rare photo that reflects a wonderful era of Lotus ‘s and Ford 's automotive history in a wonderful way.  This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12" (ca. 20 x 30 cm).  It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.

Shipping costs will only be $ 7.00 regardless of how many photos you buy.   For 5 or more photos, shipping is free!

 (Note: A. Herl, Inc. does not appear on photo, for ebay purposes only)

No copyright expressed or implied. Sold as collectable item only. We are clearing out our archives that we have gathered from various sources.

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 We have photographs that came from professional collections and/or were bought from the original photographer or press studio! They are all of professional and excellent quality.

After many decades of professionally collecting photographs and posters we are clearing out our archives. They make the perfect gift and are perfectly suited for framing. They will look gorgeous unframed and will be a true asset nicely framed with a border. They are a gorgeous and great asset in every home, workshop, workplace, restaurant, bar or club!

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