Ford of Europe Granada Mark I (1972-77)
The March 1972 release Granada succeeded the British Ford Zephyr/Zodiac, and the German Ford 17M/20M/26M, as Ford's European executive car offering. At first, lower models in the range were called the Ford Consul, but from 1975 on they were all called Granadas.
Apparently Granada Television were not happy with the choice of name for the car and considered legal action, although they soon backed down.
It soon became common as taxi, fleet and police usage. It was also converted into limousine and hearse versions by the British companies Coleman Milne and Woodall Nicholson. The Mk1 Consul/Granada was best known for its regular appearance on the television series The Sweeney in which DI Regan was often driven around in a Consul 3.0GT and later in other versions of the model. The show often featured car chase scenes in which the car would be well tested.
Mechanically, the European Granada conformed to Ford convention, the initial range using the Ford Essex V4 unit in 2.0 L displacement, and the "Essex" V6 engine in 2.5 and 3.0 L capacities. German models employed a Ford Taunus V4 engine in 1.7 L displacement, or the 3.0L Essex V6, or, more commonly the "Cologne" V6 in 2.0, 2.3 or 2.6 L capacities. The V4 was later replaced by the Pinto unit. The car generally followed mechanical layout of its predecessors Ford Zephyr/Zodiac, utilizing a coil sprung independent rear end, although front McPherson struts were replaced by double wishbones, introduced 18 months earlier in smaller TC Cortina and Taunus. On the other hand the Granada - like Ford 17M/20M/26M - featured drum brakes at rear, as opposed to the Ford Zephyr/Zodiac rear disc brakes.
The cars were available as two- and four-door saloons, a five-door estate (Turnier) and two-door fastback coupé. The early (1972-73) Coupé had slightly different sheetmetal; a more pronounced "coke-bottle" line. In 1974 the coupé was revised, with more straight lines. The "coke-bottle" coupé was unsuccessul in the UK, as most Granadas were chauffeur-driven, unlike in Germany, where they were owner-driven. The revised coupé was sold only in Ghia-trim in the UK, elsewhere in all trims with all engines available. This was the reverse of the situation with the TC Cortina and Taunus, where the British model had the "coke-bottle" styling.
[] Ford of Europe Granada Mark II (1977-85)
The square and straight-lined Granada '78 appeared in August 1977 and was produced until April 1985 following a mild facelift and attention to drivetrain NVH in 1982. It was a development of the previous car, the main differences being the "Cologne" V6 engine in 2.3 L and 2.8 L forms replacing the older "Essex" unit, and the introduction of features such as air conditioning and fuel-injection. The coupé was discontinued when the new model began production, although there was a 2 door saloon version in certain European markets.
As the range matured another two models were introduced. A sports based Granada was introduced as the Granada 2.8 Injection which had alloy wheels and a rather odd looking black bootlid spoiler. This model borrowed the 2.8i "injected" engine from the Ghia model range. Towards the end of its production run, the introduction of the 2.0 and 2.3 LX saloons and estates provided versions with a slightly higher specification than the "base" L models.
A special edition version of the Ghia X model was later introduced as the "Ford Granada Ghia X Executive" which added luxury appointments such as high grade Connolly leather interior.
There was also a special "Taxi" edition, available only in black, which included a foot-operated "panic button" in the drivers' footwell which would operate the alarm system.
In addition to these two models the range was complemented by estate models which reflected the same appointment levels as the entire saloon range including the Ghia X, but not the executive model.
Ford subcontracted assembly to Hyundai Motor Company in South Korea for export of this model to Southeast Asian countries.
The robust and tough nature of these cars has made them a popular choice in the UK for using as banger racing cars in recent years as older cars become harder to get hold of, and many have met their end on banger racing circuits.
[] Ford of Europe Granada Mark III (1985-94)
In April 1985 the third-generation car arrived, which was essentially a rebadged Ford Scorpio, the Granada name being used in the UK and Ireland only, with the Scorpio badge being reserved for the top-range versions.
This version of the Granada continued the theme from the previous version. This time the car superficially resembled a larger version of the Cortina's successor; the Ford Sierra.
The final incarnation of the Granada proved itself to be a reliable and solid car. In August 2006, 12 years after the last model was made, a survey by Auto Express magazine revealed that more than 40,000 of the 265,640 MK3 Granadas registered in the UK were still on the road.
The entire range was called Scorpio from 1994.
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