While rivals moved to overhead-valve engines, this Taunus 12M stuck with an old-fashioned side-valve unit — a deliberately conservative choice for 1950s Ford.
Median 100 hp across 278 similar cars
Lead trim: Taunus 12M 1.2 (1172 cc, 38 PS) · up to 54 hp
Ford Taunus 12M / 15M1952–1959
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Ford Taunus 12M / 15M yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactWhile rivals moved to overhead-valve engines, this Taunus 12M stuck with an old-fashioned side-valve unit — a deliberately conservative choice for 1950s Ford.
The Taunus 12M presented in 1952 was the first new German Ford after World War II. It featured ponton styling similar to the British Ford Zephyr, and shared with British Fords the retention of an old side-valve engine at a time when competitors were increasingly moving to overhead-valve units. The Taunus 15M (from 1955) used a new and more powerful engine: the 12M had 1172 cc with 38 PS and a top speed of 112 km/h (70 mph), the 15M 1498 cc with 55 PS and 128 km/h (80 mph). Body styles were a two-door sedan, two-door station wagon and sedan delivery. The 12M, 15M and 17M models had an engine that, in the first 12M, was a carry-over of the sidevalve (flathead) engine from the first Taunus series, and from the 15M was replaced by an overhead-valve design similar to the British Ford Consul engine; in some Scandinavian markets a 10M badge was briefly used on a slightly better-equipped export version. The "M" is said to stand for "Meisterstück" (masterpiece), but that word was found to be registered by another German automaker.
Collectors Spotted in the Ford Taunus Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Ford Taunus yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
2 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taunus 12M 1.2 (1172 cc, 38 PS) | 1952–1959 | 1.2 L Inline-4 | 37 hp | 55 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Taunus 15M 1.5 (1498 cc, 55 PS) | 1955–1959 | 1.5 L Inline-4 | 54 hp | 82 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
This generation exists because the first P7 flopped -- Ford rushed out a restyled car just one year later and, confusingly, called it P7 again.
This Taunus lasted exactly one model year before Ford redid it — but while it lasted, the 20M wore a hood scoop that did absolutely nothing. It was fake.
Every Taunus before it had a cabriolet in the lineup. The P6, Ford's first postwar Taunus redesign, was the one generation to drop the convertible entirely.
The P5 was West Germany's cheapest six-cylinder car, and its Turnier estate was briefly the only six-cylinder wagon in the country.
Decades before the Fiesta, this little Taunus 12M quietly became Ford’s very first front-wheel-drive car.
Germans nicknamed this Taunus the "Badewanne" — the bathtub — for its rounded, all-new bodywork.
West Germans nicknamed this Taunus the 'Baroque Taunus' for borrowing its flashy tailfins and curves straight from mid-50s American Fords and Mercurys.
While rivals moved to overhead-valve engines, this Taunus 12M stuck with an old-fashioned side-valve unit — a deliberately conservative choice for 1950s Ford.
This Taunus quietly set a safety first for the brand in Germany: it was the first German Ford to be fitted with hydraulic brakes.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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