Setting the Style – The Ford Consul Classic

Some years ago, I wrote in Classics Monthly I wrote of how in 1961:

A new breed of commercial traveller was emerging, one who cruised the M1, stayed in motels and who had modelled himself on either Laurence Harvey in Room at the Top or the Strand Cigarette Man. His company car would have to reflect this world of sharp business and sharper winklepickers.

So, their ideal car was probably a two-tone Consul Classic 315 De Luxe as sold by www.angliacarauctions.co.uk. This was the Ford that “Set The Style”, with the “long low look” and “motorway pace” - and a car that was “ideal for the “golf-club car park”.

The Consul Classic’s origins date from 1956 when Ford GB identified the need for a ‘D-Class’ model to bridge the gap between the Prefect 100E and the Consul Mk. II. When the Classic 315 debuted in May 1961, your friendly local dealer could highlight the four headlamps – a ‘first’ for a medium-sized British saloon, front disc brakes and the vast 21 cu ft. boot.

But the most distinctive element of the Classic was, of course, its looks. Colin Neale’s styling appeared a charming blend of 1958 Lincoln and the 1960 Galaxie. Plus, the De Luxe had five stars to decorate the radiator grille. Ford GB claimed they developed the Classic without outside influence, but it seemed ideal for the motorist who affected a mid-Atlantic accent at the supermarket.

The Daily Mirror thought “Few will quarrel with the Classic’s happy trans-atlantic styling”. The Daily Telegraph regarded it as “the nicest compromise I have seem so far between American compact car styling and the limitations of a European ‘light car’”. Motor Sport was less impressed, grumbling “it resembles nothing more than an enlarged version of the 105E Anglia with the addition of some American styling gimmicks”.

However, Classic owners did not care about such negativity as they were too busy admiring the “elegant and very practical reverse rake rear window”. Dagenham

claimed this feature enlarged the boot, kept the glass rain-free and, during the summer, created “an agreeable sunshade”.

Ford also boasted the Classic line-up presented the buyer with “an embarrassment of riches”. Owners could choose from two or four door saloons, a floor- or steering column-mounted gear levers and standard or De Luxe trim levels. In addition, there was the remarkably stylish Consul Capri coupe, which was initially for export only.

The standard two-door was £744 17s 6d but all commercial travellers worth their salt aspired to the De Luxe four-door at £801 10s 10d. Not only did it boast two-speed wipers, duotone paint, and a passenger sun visor, but there was also a glove box lock, a cigarette lighter, a rear ashtray, windscreen washers and a “full horn ring” as standard.

Early models featured a 1,340cc four-cylinder engine and in August 1962 Ford introduced a five-bearing 1.5-litre unit. Autocar thought the 1,498cc plant helped make the Classic “a most desirable and practical car for the family man”. But that year saw the launch of another Dagenham product that would damage its sales. Ford GB envisaged the ‘Consul Cortina’ as occupying a marketing position below the Classic, but it was dimensionally similar.

The launch of the 1.5-litre Cortina Super in January 1963 further reduced the gulf between the two models. In 4-door forms, there was a small price advantage to the Cortina: £688 as opposed to £701. The ‘Consul Corsair’ replaced the Classic saloon nine months later; the Consul Capri lasted until 1964.

The Classic deserved greater success but the element that makes its looks so distinctive today was not always a sales asset when new. What may have worked on Sunset Boulevard did not so easily transpose to the UK company car sector in 1961. Terence Beckett, later the Head of Ford GB, reflected the Classic should have debuted soon after the Anglia 105E, which made its bow in 1959.

From a 2025 perspective a Classic seems as much a part of the twilight of British rock and roll as Vince Taylor, Heinz Burt, Jet Harris or Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. Ironically, one of the Classic’s most famous owners was Paul McCartney, who ordered a Goodwood Green four-door from Blakes of Liverpool. In 1963 the Please Please Me album seemed to mark the end of the last days of the Teddy Boy era and the popular culture that gave rise to the Classic.

And if this PR film does not make you want to drive a Ford Consul Classic De Luxe through Greece, then you deserve to watch Emmerdale for the next 100 years -

With thanks to www.angliacarauctions.co.uk/ for their time.

With thanks to www.angliacarauctions.co.uk/ for the permission to use the images in this blog.