MEET THE OWNER - PAUL BARNES AND HIS FORD CORTINA HUNTSMAN

In 2009, the Ford enthusiast Paul Barnes was searching for a Cortina Mk. II but was unable to find any suitable example. Finally, however, one of his colleagues told him that his father-in-law had just lost a close friend and had one in his garage. “At the time of viewing, all I recall was a dirty and dusty Estate with minimal rust.”

But Paul did not realise he was about to buy one of the rarest versions of Dagenham’s finest vehicle. ‘Huntsman’ refers to the 1980-limited edition Escort 1.3 L Mk. II and Cortina 1.6L Estates, which were devised by a group of distributors rather than the factory. “For the very first time, the Ford Main Dealers of Southeast England have come together to introduce two very special cars.”

And this was no ordinary Mk. V for it came with a “Huntsman Red” paint finish with gold coach lines, tinted glass, halogen driving lamps and “Sports Road Wheels.” But that was not all, as the interior featured a clock and – one of the leading sales features – a push-button radio/stereo cassette.

Of course, from a modern day perspective, some of the “luxury” items, such as the tailgate wash-wipe and the passenger door mirror, look fairly essential, but the Huntsman possessed genuine showroom appeal. The prices were also very competitive - £5,548 for the Cortina and £4,334 for the Escort.

The Huntsman served to clear the showrooms of the Escort, as the Mk. III was due to make its bow that September and dealers could point out the lack of a domestic rival to the Cortina Huntsman. Talbot and Vauxhall never built estate versions of the Alpine and Cavalier Mk. I, while the Morris Ital wagon never aspired to any form of glamour. “Don’t Delay – The Huntsman is being hunted, urged Gowrings of Wokingham.”

Naturally, Paul had to acquire the Huntsman, and he recalls:

“The funny thing about the car was that it started readily but ran badly until I said ‘I’ll have it’ - at that moment it ran smoothly until I came to turn it off when it ran badly again. The only information on the Huntsman edition is 350 Escorts were made plus 150 Cortinas - mine is the only known remaining Cortina.”

Today, the Barnes Ford looks as though it has just emerged from a showroom. Any Mk. V Estate is guaranteed to attract attention, and the Huntsman’s colour scheme only adds panache. Nor is it his only Cortina, for he is also the custodian of a very handsome 1.6LS. But that is another story…

With thanks to: Paul Barnes