Ford Taunus P2
Encyclopedia
The Ford Taunus 17 M was a middle sized family saloon/sedan produced by Ford of Germany
between 1957 and 1960. The Taunus 17M name was also applied to subsequent Ford models which is why the car is usually identified, in retrospect, as the Ford Taunus P2. It was the second newly designed German Ford to be launched after the war and for this reason it was from inception known within the company as Ford Project 2 (P2) or the Ford Taunus P2.
Because of its unusually flamboyant styling the first 17M also acquired various descriptive soubriquets of which „Barocktaunus“is probably, today, the most widely used.
During a three year production run 239,978 Taunus P2s were manufactured.
which went on sale in the same year. The design for the body quickly grew too large and heavy for the 55 ps/hp (40 kW) 1498 cc unit, however, and so the company developed a bored out 1698 cc version of the engine, now producing 60 ps/hp (44 kW).
At the end of the summer of 1957, memorably, the car was launched at an upmarket Cologne restaurant by the singing star Gitta Lind. Lind’s singing style was not (and is not) one with wide appeal in the US or the UK, and in these countries she may be more noteworthy as the great niece of Beethoven’s piano
teacher. The singer’s own compositional talent was on display with the song she wrote for the occasion which was entitled "Fahren auch Sie den neuen Taunus 17M" (You too [should] drive the new Taunus 17M). The next month the Ford Taunus 17M itself appeared as one of the stars at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
during the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The style, which contrasted with the uncompromised functionalism more usually associated with German design in recent decades, enjoyed a brief revival in the 1950s. Competitor automakers at this time also emulated US styling cues, using large amounts of chrome on the body work and incorporating exaggerated fins, but in 1957 it was nevertheless hard to find any Borgward or Opel decorated with more chrome, nor featuring longer or larger tail fins than the Ford Taunus P2. The sharp “markers” atop the four wings of the car did nevertheless confer a practical benefit by making it very easy to determine, from the driver’s seat, precisely where the car ended.
For buyers who found a standard Ford Taunus 17M unacceptably restrained, Ford offered the Taunus 17M deluxe: this provided a two tone paint finish, an interior enhanced with Brocade coverings
, an exceptionally stylish steering wheel, a tachometer shaped like a kidney, and even more chrome on the outside of the body. More than fifty years later the Taunus P2 has become very rare, and surviving examples tend to be of these deluxe versions.
The “Flying carpet” soubriquet seems to have been the response of a keen drivers to the company’s attempts to give the car the ride and handling characteristics commensurate with its flamboyant bodywork, modelled on the North American boulevard cruiser
s of the day, set up for a country associated with straighter, wider and more even roads than those commonly encountered in Europe then or indeed now.
, and it closely resembled that company’s Vedette
model which itself emerged with enlarged tailfins in 1957. However, in 1954 Ford had sold a majority holding in its strike prone French operation to Simca
, and although Ford retained a minority shareholding in the Simca business until 1958, the P2’s French cousin, despite having been developed when the business was under Ford control, was in most markets badged as a Simca.
The Vedette had pioneered an independent front suspension system that involved incorporating an oil filled shock absorber within a spring in a manner intended to dampen the excessively rapid vertical movement of a simple steel spring. The resulting unit later became known as a MacPherson strut
, and starting in 1951 with the British Ford Consul
, Ford would fit them to many mainstream models produced by their German and British factories. The 1957 Taunus P2 was the first car from Ford Germany to feature a front end suspension configuration using MacPherson struts. The MacPherson strut arrangement would become known for combining good road holding and passenger comfort for a relatively low cost, but the shock settings on the Baroque Taunus nevertheless must have contributed to its informally awarded “Flying carpet” title
In retrospect the inclusion of a four-door sedan/saloon in the range seems unsurprising. However, the German market, in contrast to the French and British markets, still had more of an appetite for two-door sedans/saloons in this category. The Borgward Isabella
sedan/saloon of the time was never offered with more than two doors, and the two-door Taunus 17Ms of the period seem comfortably to have outsold the four-door versions.
was lagging badly in the marketplace.
However, during the same three year period Opel produced 817,003 of their Opel Olympia Rekord model which competed in almost the same class. Coming second to General Motors in the high volume market segments in Germany (which would soon be Europe’s largest national auto-market) became a habit that Ford would find hard to break in the ensuring decades.
, invited unfavourable comparisons between the old and the new models. Second-hand values for the P2 were never strong, and this combined with inadequate rust protection to ensure that few survived for long enough to acquire "oldtimer status".
Fifty year’s later, the car’s rarity and its 1950s style generate more positive reactions, at least among enthusiasts who are prepared to overcome the acute shortage of ready made replacement parts for the car.
Ford Germany
-Ford Motor Co. AG:Until 27 January 1950 all Ford's European operations other than in the USSR were run from Dagenham and owned by Ford Motor Company Limited, Dearborn's 55% owned subsidiary...
between 1957 and 1960. The Taunus 17M name was also applied to subsequent Ford models which is why the car is usually identified, in retrospect, as the Ford Taunus P2. It was the second newly designed German Ford to be launched after the war and for this reason it was from inception known within the company as Ford Project 2 (P2) or the Ford Taunus P2.
Because of its unusually flamboyant styling the first 17M also acquired various descriptive soubriquets of which „Barocktaunus“is probably, today, the most widely used.
During a three year production run 239,978 Taunus P2s were manufactured.
Development and launch
The early sketches for Ford’s new middle class sedan date from early in 1955. Originally it was intended that the car be powered by the 1498 cc ohv engine installed in the Taunus 15MFord Taunus P1
The Ford Taunus 12 M was a small family saloon/sedan produced by Ford of Germany from 1952. Between 1955 and 1959 it was joined by the larger-engined Ford Taunus 15M...
which went on sale in the same year. The design for the body quickly grew too large and heavy for the 55 ps/hp (40 kW) 1498 cc unit, however, and so the company developed a bored out 1698 cc version of the engine, now producing 60 ps/hp (44 kW).
At the end of the summer of 1957, memorably, the car was launched at an upmarket Cologne restaurant by the singing star Gitta Lind. Lind’s singing style was not (and is not) one with wide appeal in the US or the UK, and in these countries she may be more noteworthy as the great niece of Beethoven’s piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
teacher. The singer’s own compositional talent was on display with the song she wrote for the occasion which was entitled "Fahren auch Sie den neuen Taunus 17M" (You too [should] drive the new Taunus 17M). The next month the Ford Taunus 17M itself appeared as one of the stars at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Fashion statements
In addition to the relatively mild „baroque“ insult, Ford’s new middle-weight quickly gained other informal names including „Gelsenkirchener Barock“ and „Fliegender Teppich“ (Flying carpet). Gelsenkirchener Baroque, a term frequently applied to the Taunus P2 in press reviews, was a style more generally associated with heavy furniture in the newly confident German empireGerman Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
during the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The style, which contrasted with the uncompromised functionalism more usually associated with German design in recent decades, enjoyed a brief revival in the 1950s. Competitor automakers at this time also emulated US styling cues, using large amounts of chrome on the body work and incorporating exaggerated fins, but in 1957 it was nevertheless hard to find any Borgward or Opel decorated with more chrome, nor featuring longer or larger tail fins than the Ford Taunus P2. The sharp “markers” atop the four wings of the car did nevertheless confer a practical benefit by making it very easy to determine, from the driver’s seat, precisely where the car ended.
For buyers who found a standard Ford Taunus 17M unacceptably restrained, Ford offered the Taunus 17M deluxe: this provided a two tone paint finish, an interior enhanced with Brocade coverings
Brocade
Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and with or without gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli," comes from Italian broccato meaning "embossed cloth," originally past participle of the verb broccare...
, an exceptionally stylish steering wheel, a tachometer shaped like a kidney, and even more chrome on the outside of the body. More than fifty years later the Taunus P2 has become very rare, and surviving examples tend to be of these deluxe versions.
The “Flying carpet” soubriquet seems to have been the response of a keen drivers to the company’s attempts to give the car the ride and handling characteristics commensurate with its flamboyant bodywork, modelled on the North American boulevard cruiser
Landyacht
Landyacht is colloquial term in the United States and parts of Canada, used to describe the large sedans that American automobile manufacturers produced, particularly full-size, rear-wheel drive sedans, from the 1950s through the 1990s...
s of the day, set up for a country associated with straighter, wider and more even roads than those commonly encountered in Europe then or indeed now.
The French connection and the front suspension
The Taunus P2 seems to have been developed in close collaboration with Ford of FranceFord SAF
Ford SAF was the French subsidiary of the American automaker Ford Motor Company, which existed under various names between 1916 and 1954, when Ford sold the manufacturing business to Simca....
, and it closely resembled that company’s Vedette
Simca Vedette
The Simca Vedette is a large car, manufactured from 1954-1961 by the French automaker Simca, at their factory in Poissy, France. It was marketed with different model names according to trim and equipment levels...
model which itself emerged with enlarged tailfins in 1957. However, in 1954 Ford had sold a majority holding in its strike prone French operation to Simca
Simca
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
, and although Ford retained a minority shareholding in the Simca business until 1958, the P2’s French cousin, despite having been developed when the business was under Ford control, was in most markets badged as a Simca.
The Vedette had pioneered an independent front suspension system that involved incorporating an oil filled shock absorber within a spring in a manner intended to dampen the excessively rapid vertical movement of a simple steel spring. The resulting unit later became known as a MacPherson strut
MacPherson strut
The MacPherson strut is a type of car suspension system which uses the axis of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in modern vehicles and named after Earle S. MacPherson, who developed the design.-History:...
, and starting in 1951 with the British Ford Consul
Ford Consul
The Ford Consul is a car manufactured by Ford in Britain.Between 1951 and 1962 the Consul was the four-cylinder base model of the three-model Ford Zephyr range, comprising Consul, Zephyr and Zephyr Zodiac...
, Ford would fit them to many mainstream models produced by their German and British factories. The 1957 Taunus P2 was the first car from Ford Germany to feature a front end suspension configuration using MacPherson struts. The MacPherson strut arrangement would become known for combining good road holding and passenger comfort for a relatively low cost, but the shock settings on the Baroque Taunus nevertheless must have contributed to its informally awarded “Flying carpet” title
Bodies
The P2 came as a two- or four-door sedan/saloon. A three-door station wagon was also offered together with a van, which was in effect a station wagon with the side windows to the rear of the b-pillars replaced by steel panelling. The deluxe version was denoted with the letter “L” while the letters “CL” were reserved for a two-door cabriolet which was the result of a conversion performed by the traditional Cologne coach-builders (Karl Deutsch).In retrospect the inclusion of a four-door sedan/saloon in the range seems unsurprising. However, the German market, in contrast to the French and British markets, still had more of an appetite for two-door sedans/saloons in this category. The Borgward Isabella
Borgward Isabella
The Borgward Isabella was a medium-sized, two-door saloon manufactured by the Bremen based auto-manufacturer Carl F. W. Borgward GmbH from 1954-1962...
sedan/saloon of the time was never offered with more than two doors, and the two-door Taunus 17Ms of the period seem comfortably to have outsold the four-door versions.
1959 Facelift
After the annual summer shut down in 1959 the Taunus P2 received a minor facelift in time for the 1960 model year which would be its final year of production. The roof line was flattened, reducing the height of the car by 3 cm (more than an inch). The chrome decorations on the car’s body were rearranged. One of the results of that was that the basic model now flaunted the same front grill as the de Luxe model. On a more practical note, buyers paying extra for the four-speed transmission now enjoyed synchromesh on all four forward gears.1960 Replacement
In 1960 the Baroque Taunus was replaced with the Bathtub Taunus (Badewanne). The application of affectionately disrespectful names to Ford’s German models seems by now to have become a habit for the German press. In terms of the company’s own nomenclatures 1960 was the year that the Ford Taunus P2 was replaced by the Ford Taunus P3.Commercial
Between 1957 and 1960 Ford produced 239,978 Taunus P2s. 45,468 of these were station wagons. This provided a welcome boost to the company’s domestic market share at a time when its only other mainstream model, the Ford Taunus P1Ford Taunus P1
The Ford Taunus 12 M was a small family saloon/sedan produced by Ford of Germany from 1952. Between 1955 and 1959 it was joined by the larger-engined Ford Taunus 15M...
was lagging badly in the marketplace.
However, during the same three year period Opel produced 817,003 of their Opel Olympia Rekord model which competed in almost the same class. Coming second to General Motors in the high volume market segments in Germany (which would soon be Europe’s largest national auto-market) became a habit that Ford would find hard to break in the ensuring decades.
Reputation
Around the time the Taunus P2 was replaced by the Taunus P3 tail fins abruptly fell out of fashion even in the USA, which was generally seen as the country that had invented them. The Baroque Taunus had attracted adverse comment for its over-ornate styling even while in production, and the modern clean design shaped for the P3 by Ford’s new styling guru, Uwe BahnsenUwe Bahnsen
Uwe Bahnsen is a German car designer. After an apprenticeship as a window dresser Bahnsen studied at the College of Fine Arts in Hamburg. From 1958 to 1986 he was with Ford Europe held various positions, most recently as vice president for design. During this time, he created such icons of today's...
, invited unfavourable comparisons between the old and the new models. Second-hand values for the P2 were never strong, and this combined with inadequate rust protection to ensure that few survived for long enough to acquire "oldtimer status".
Fifty year’s later, the car’s rarity and its 1950s style generate more positive reactions, at least among enthusiasts who are prepared to overcome the acute shortage of ready made replacement parts for the car.