SOMETIMES even when a car manufacturer is enjoying truly golden days, things can go wrong.

Such was the case with the V4-engined Ford Corsair of 1965.

At that time Ford just could not put a foot wrong. The Cortina was proving to be a huge success and the sun was shining on the Blue Badge marque.

The Corsair, introduced to replace the Consul Classic was intended to be a step-up from the Cortina, with its Ford Thunderbird-inspired knife blade nose and better accommodation.

It had been introduced at the London Motor Show of 1963 as a saloon and an estate soon followed. There was even a Crayford convertible which is now much sought after.

Initially the Corsair was powered by a 1.5-litre in-line petrol engine and in truth it was quite a pleasant car. But Ford wanted to make it more upmarket than the Cortina and in 1965 used it as a launch pad for its new generation engine, the V4.

The thinking behind the V4 was that it would take up less space than a straight engine, but in the Corsair this made no difference whatsoever.

Vague mutterings about the Corsair being a guinea pig were rife and the truth dawned that the new engine was no more smooth than a straight unit and it made the car heavier, slower and more thirsty.

Even Lanchester-inspired counterweighted balancer shafts could not entirely cancel out the V4's vibrations.

The extra weight affected the steering bringing nose-heavy understeer and most realised that the Cortina was a much better car.

One marketing slogan for the V4 models was "The Car That Is Seen But Not Heard", which was a massive stretch of the imagination.

My view is that Ford got it badly wrong with the V4 Corsair. The car deserved a light six-cylinder engine, such as that used in the Triumph Vitesse plus revised suspension and steering. I am sure that in this form it would have placed a big feather in Ford's cap.

There actually was a specialist 3.0-litre conversion using a Ford V6 made in conjunction with Jeff Uren's racing company but that was a rare sight.

Ford realised quickly that the Corsair needed a shot in the arm and in 1966 the V4 2000, with a more powerful 2.0-litre engine, vinyl roof and the chrome strips removed from the side was launched. This was a 90mph plus car which was a much better package.

In all nearly 332,000 Corsairs were produced.

Perhaps one of the more interesting memories of the Corsair was the hilarious urban myth that if you drove it at full speed into the wind the knife blade front would turn the whole car into an aerofoil and it would take off.

How that one got about I don't know, and I certainly never tried it. The only way the original V4 would get anywhere near take-off speed would have been with rocket assistance.