True Horsepower: Ford of Britain at 100

Communing With Nature

BRENTWOOD, Essex, 13 July 2011 – To celebrate the centenary of Ford of Britain in 2011 the company is exploring its photo archive to reveal rarely seen images.

This week we've ploughed the archives to bring you the perfect illustration of Ford horsepower. On a typical British farm the farmer tends his cattle while the horses wonder whether the Ford Anglia's 36bhp is any match for them.

Launched in 1953 the Ford Anglia 100E offered the innovations of integral construction and MacPherson strut suspension. An existing side-valve engine remained unchanged in size but it enjoyed significant improvements to power and smooth running. Although styling replicated large Ford cars the Ford Anglia proved an agile rally car, winning its class in the 1956 Safari Rally.

Nearly 60 years later the UK's best selling car, the Ford Fiesta, continues to show that small cars can deliver big power. Packed into the Fiesta RS WRC is the 300bhp, turbo-charged 1.6-litre EcoBoost engine that powered Britain's favourite car to a 1-2-3 victory at Rally Sweden.