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Ford 12 M TS in (historical) test - the second wind

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Created on March 15, 1963

Reading time 15min

Written by:

Olaf von Fersen

Photos:

Ford Motor Company

Archiv

Ford Motor Company

Archiv

Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - unerbitterliche Testfahrer

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - der TS erregt Aufsehen

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - mit 5600 DM der günstigste 1500-er im Markt

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Ford Taunus 12 M Coupé (1963) - insgesamt wertigere Ausstattung und Befestigungspunkte für die Sicherheitsgurte

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - Interieur mit TS-Ausstattung

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - als viertürige Limousine

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - zweitürige Variante

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1962) - Durchsichtszeichnung - P4 im Profil

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - die sportliche Version TS

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - dreitürig und sportlich als TS

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Ford Taunus 12 M TS (1963) - Fronttriebwagen mit V4-Zylindermotor von 1,5 Litern Hubraum und 62 SAE-PS

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1962) - mit flacher Heckscheibe

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Ford Taunus 12 M P4 (1963) - am Anfang der Rekordfahrten - noch sauber und unbeschädigt

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Ford Taunus 12 M P4 (1963) - auf Rekordfahrt - 24 wurden eingefahren

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Ford Taunus 12 M P4 (1963) - der Überschlag hatte optische Folgen

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1966) - Raumersparnis dank V-Motor, gute Zugänglichkeit trotz tiefer Lage - Genfer Autosalon 1966

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - der kurzbauende V4-Motor

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - Schnittmodell des V4-Motors

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - der V4-Motor für den Frontantriebswagen

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - das Innenleben des V4-Motors (40 PS bei 4500 U/min)

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1963) - Schnittzeichnung des V4-Motors

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1962) - Vorderachskonstruktion und Motor

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1962) - bewährte Konstruktion - Frontantrieb mit Querblattfedern

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Ford Taunus 12 M Coupé (1963) - als man noch Autos zeichnete

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Ford Taunus 12 M Coupé (1963) - elegante Variante für sportlichere Naturen

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Ford Taunus 12 M Coupé (1963) - in Fahrt

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Ford Taunus 12 M (1964) - Coupé mit schwungvollem Dachverlauf

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Ford Taunus 12 M Coupé (1963) - mit dem V4-Motor mit 55 PS und Frontantrieb

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Ford Taunus 12 M Coupé (1963) - das Coupé ist ein echter Viersitzer

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Ford Taunus 12 M Coupé (1963) - mit flacherer Heckscheibe zum Coupé gewandelt (Durchsichtszeichnung)

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Ford Taunus 12 M Kombi (1965) - Das Boot muss aufs Dach. Aber für die restliche Ausrüstung ist im Laderaum genug Platz

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Summary

While the nature of the normal Ford Taunus 12 M was that of a mild, gentle breeze, the 12 M TS launched in 1962 behaved like a storm of medium hurricane force. Behind the inconspicuous model designation was a nippy compact in a Biedermann coat, which also showed the taillights to its larger Taunus relatives. Why the test car still amazed and what defects one had to be prepared for almost 60 years ago can be read in the historical test report from 1963 with a collection of pictures and sales literature from that time.

This article contains the following chapters

We have to make a correction
Better equipment - more comfort
"Second wind" kicks in strongly at 80 km/h
Brilliant power transmission
This brings us to the driving characteristics:
Braking good, but not tough
Detail quality could be better
Is it worth the money?
Technical data and test results

Estimated reading time: 15min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The 12 M TS that the Ford works gave us for testing in February had such surprising performance that we felt compelled to ask the Ford works for explicit assurance that our test car was a standard vehicle. The reply we received from Cologne had the following wording: "I am happy to confirm, in lieu of oath if you wish, that the Taunus 12 M TS test car provided to you is a completely normal production car. I can also confirm that the engine of this car has neither been specially selected nor run in beforehand. On the contrary, there are one or two Taunus 12 M TS test cars that are even faster. Christoph Schmitt Press Manager of Ford-Werke AG.

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