The fourth Anglia model, the 105E, was introduced in 1959. Its American-influenced styling included a sweeping nose line, and on deluxe versions, a full-width slanted chrome grille in between prominent "eye" headlamps. (Basic Anglias featured a narrower, painted grille.[18]) Its smoothly sloped line there looked more like a 1950s Studebaker (or even early Ford Thunderbird) than the more aggressive-looking late-'50s American Fords, possibly because its British designers used wind-tunnel testing and streamlining[citation needed]. Like late-'50s Lincolns and Mercurys (and later the Citroën Ami of France and the Consul Classic), the car sported a backward-slanted rear window (so that it would remain clear in rain, according to contemporary marketing claims). In fact, this look was imported from the 1958 Lincoln Continental,[19] where it had been the accidental result of a design specification for an electrically opening (breezeway) rear window. It had muted tailfins, much toned-down from its American counterparts. An estate car joined the saloon in the line-up in September 1961. The instrument panel had a red light for the generator and a green one for the oil pressure.[20]
The new styling was joined by something the smaller Fords had been needing for some time, a new engine – a 997 cc overhead valve (OHV) straight-four with an oversquare cylinder bore that became known as the "Kent". Acceleration from rest was still sluggish, but it was much improved from earlier cars. Also new for British Fords was a four-speed manual gearbox with synchromesh on the top three forward ratios: this was replaced by an all-synchromesh box in September 1962 (on 1198 powered cars).[18] The notoriously feeble vacuum-powered windscreen wipers of earlier Anglias were replaced with more conventional windscreen wipers powered by their own electric motor.[18] The Macpherson strut independent front suspension used on the 100E was retained.