Decades before the Fiesta, this little Taunus 12M quietly became Ford’s very first front-wheel-drive car.
Lead trim: Taunus 12M P4 1.2 V4 (1183 cc, 40 PS) · up to 64 hp
Ford Taunus 12M1962–1966
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Ford Taunus 12M 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.
FactDecades before the Fiesta, this little Taunus 12M quietly became Ford’s very first front-wheel-drive car.
The new Ford Taunus 12M P4 was similar in size to its predecessor but a completely new car based on the Ford Cardinal project: a new body, a new V4 engine and front-wheel drive, making it the first Ford car with front-wheel drive (the second was the Ford Corcel, the third the Ford Fiesta). Engines were the 1.2-litre 1183 cc with 40 PS and 123 km/h (76 mph) and the 1.5-litre 1498 cc with 50, 55 or 65 PS and 135, 139 or 144 km/h (84, 86 or 89 mph); body styles were a two-door sedan, four-door sedan, two-door coupé, two-door station wagon and sedan delivery.
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
4 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 P4 1.2 V4 (1183 cc, 40 PS) | 1962–1966 | 1.2 L V4 | 39 hp | 59 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| Taunus 12M P4 1.5 V4 (1498 cc, 50 PS) | 1962–1966 | 1.5 L V4 | 49 hp | 76 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| Taunus 12M P4 1.5 V4 (1498 cc, 55 PS) | 1962–1966 | 1.5 L V4 | 54 hp | 79 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| Taunus 12M P4 1.5 V4 (1498 cc, 65 PS) | 1962–1966 | 1.5 L V4 | 64 hp | 86 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
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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