It was also assembled in Venezuela along with the Del Rey. From this year, the redesigned Corcel II as it was originally sold bore a strong resemblance to the European Ford Escort and Ford Cortina of same era, but its Renault underpinnings remained the same. The Corcel's origins lay in the Renault Plans were underway to replace this outmoded range with a new car based on the upcoming Renault 12 , internally referred to as "Project M".
When Willys do Brasil was bought by Ford do Brasil in , Ford inherited the project, meaning that the Corcel was actually presented nearly two years before the Renault The early Corcels had severe quality issues and sales suffered accordingly, but after Ford do Brasil received a new head Joseph W.
O'Neill in the decision was made to ameliorate the situation. The GT was updated in the form of new decals every year, and eventually also got a larger, more powerful engine. Some of the L and all GT versions were also equipped with a new, bored out 1. The taillights were now single-piece units.
Note that all of these power outputs were achieved using the low quality, low octane petrol available in South America at the time.
It would not be faster than the V-8 Maverick and Chevrolet Opala , but it would beat everything else in the Brazilian market, including four- and six-cylinder Mavericks and some Dodge Chargers that partook of the events. These competitions uncovered that the front drive universal joint was prone to break under heavy stress, so in the Corcel line switched to constant-velocity joints. In , for the model year, Ford launched the Corcel II.
