Ford Taunus P3

Ford Taunus 17M
Overview
ManufacturerFord Germany
Also calledFord Taunus P3
"Badewannetaunus " (Bath-tub Taunus)
ProductionSeptember 1960 – August 1964
AssemblyCologne-Niehl, Germany
Body and chassis
ClassExecutive car (E)
Body style2-door or 4 saloon
3-door "Kombi" estate car
2-door coach-built (Karl Deutsch) cabriolet[1]
Powertrain
EngineTaunus I4:
1498 cc 4-cylinder in-line water-cooled, overhead-valve
1698 cc 4-cylinder in-line water-cooled, overhead-valve
1758 cc 4-cylinder in-line water-cooled, overhead-valve
Transmission3- or 4-speed manual
Saxomat automatic clutch optional with 3-speed box
Dimensions
Wheelbase2,630 mm (103.5 in)
Length4,452 mm (175.3 in)
4,517 mm (177.8 in) (turnier/estate)
Width1,670 mm (65.7 in)
Height1,450 mm (57.1 in) or 1,490 mm (58.7 in)
Curb weight940–1,015 kg (2,072–2,238 lb)
Chronology
PredecessorFord Taunus 17M P2
SuccessorFord Taunus 17M P5
The coachbuilt cabriolet, converted by Karl Deutsch of Cologne was always rare.
The three door station-wagon/estate was badged as the Ford Taunus 17M Turnier.
The instrument panel ahead of the driver and the radio both carried over the shape of an extended lozenge which dominated the shape of the car when viewed from outside.

The Ford Taunus 17 M is a middle sized family saloon/sedan that was produced by Ford Germany between September 1960 and August 1964.[2] The Taunus 17M name had been applied to the car's predecessor and it would apply also to subsequent Ford models which is why the 17M introduced in 1960 is usually identified, in retrospect, as the Ford Taunus P3. It was the third 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 3 (P3) or the Ford Taunus P3.

Photo of car with oil tank in the back.
Taunus in Nicaragua

Members of the press had apparently competed to find a suitably disrespectful epithet to describe the controversially styled first Taunus 17M, and it was in the same tradition that the new 17M for 1960 became known as the "Badewannetaunus" (Bath tub Taunus).

The Ford Taunus P3 was a commercial success 669,731 were produced during a four-year production run, giving an annualised rate more than twice that achieved by the predecessor model during its three years in production.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference OldtimerKatalogNr23 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Oswald 1945 - 90 (vol 3), p 371