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Ford Granada (Europe)
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The Ford Granada was a large executive car manufactured by Ford Europe at both its German factory in Köln (Cologne) and its British factory in Dagenham from 1972 until 1976 when production switched entirely to Germany. From 1985–94 the Granada name was used in the UK only, for a model sold in other European markets as the Ford Scorpio.
March 1972 released Granada succeeded the British Ford Zephyr, and the German Ford Taunus, as Ford's European executive car offering.
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The Ford Granada was a large executive car manufactured by Ford Europe at both its German factory in Köln (Cologne) and its British factory in Dagenham from 1972 until 1976 when production switched entirely to Germany. From 1985–94 the Granada name was used in the UK only, for a model sold in other European markets as the Ford Scorpio.
Ford Granada Mark I (1972–77)
The March 1972 released Granada succeeded the British Ford Zephyr, and the German Ford Taunus, 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. The car soon became popular for taxi, fleet and police usage. It was also converted into limousine and hearse versions by the British companies Coleman Milne and Woodall Nicholson.
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 sheet metal; a more pronounced coke bottle styling. In 1974 the coupé was revised, with more straight lines. The "coke-bottle" coupé was never sold or produced in the UK. A 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.
In South Africa, the Granada Perana V8, built by Basil Green Motors, was available through Ford dealers with the 302 CID Windsor V8 engine, developing 255 DIN HP.v 405nm @2600rpm
Ford 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 (which had never been offered in the Cologne built Granadas), and the introduction of features such as air conditioning and fuel-injection. Internally within Ford, the "Cologne" 2.3 and 2.8 units were the latest derivatives of the 'V-Taunus' range of engines.
The coupé was discontinued when the new model began production, although there was a 2-door saloon version in certain European markets. A relatively low number of vehicles were also produced with the Peugeot 504 / 505 four-cylinder diesel engine in 1.9, 2.1 and 2.5 litre capacities. Most of these went to taxi operators and few survive.
As the range matured another two models were introduced. A sports based Granada was introduced as the Granada 2.8 Injection which had white alloy wheels and a 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 saloon and estate UK marketing packs provided versions with a slightly higher specification than the "base" L models.
A special Ford of Britain only marketing pack edition of the Ghia X model was later introduced as the "Ford Granada Ghia X Executive" which standardised luxury appointments such as the high grade Connolly Leather interior that had previously been an optional fitment. 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 Ghia X Executive model.
Ford subcontracted assembly to Hyundai Motor Company in South Korea for export of this model to Southeast Asian countries, where it continued to be sold, unlike smaller European Fords like the Sierra and Escort.
Ford Granada Mark III (1985–94)
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In April 1985 the third-generation car arrived, which was essentially a rebadged Ford Scorpio, the Granada name being used in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland only, with the Scorpio badge (which covered the whole range in Continental Europe) being reserved for the top-range versions. The Mark III Granada was unique in being the first European volume production model with anti-lock brakes fitted as standard across the range.
Engine options included the familiar SOHC Pinto engine, in either tax-barrier undercutting 1.8 L form, or a more powerful 2 litre version with fuel injection available. The Cologne V6 engines were carried over from the previous range in short-lived (and not much more powerful than the 2 L Pinto) 2.4 L, and 2.8 L (later 2.9 L) capacities. In 1991 A new range-topping vehicle was introduced, the Scorpio 24-valve. It featured a 2.9 L Cologne engine that had been extensively re-worked by Cosworth Engineering and featured quad camshafts and 24 valves, enough for . According to Ford this gave a 0-60 mph time of 8.1 seconds and top speed of .
This version of the Granada continued the "Ford family" styling concept from the previous versions; this time the car superficially resembled a larger version of the Cortina's successor, the Ford Sierra.
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