Once common but now rare: Ford Escort MK1 & 2

Welcome to another installment of "Once common but now rare". In this article, we cover one of the most popular and well recognised vehicles of the 70's and 80's, the trusty and rather rusty Ford Escort.

The Ford Escort was first produced in 1968 and was a replacement for the Ford Anglia. The MK1 Escort was an incredibly practical vehicle that came in 4 different body styles, a 2 door saloon, 4 door saloon, 2 door van and 3 door station wagon. The Esky could be had with a variety of different straight four engines ranging from the 0.9 litre Crossflow OHV motor to the 2.0 litre Pinto OHC motor. MK1 Escorts were also produced in New Zealand in Seaview but only 1100 Deluxes and 1300 Supers.

The Escort was also a popular rally and racing car and Ford backed this up by releasing factory performance models. These were the Mexico, RS1600 and RS2000. The RS1600 was fitted with a very flash 1.6 litre BDA Twin Cam four cylinder that produced 113 BHP and the RS2000 was fitted with a 2.0 litre Pinto Single Cam four cylinder that produced 99 BHP. The Mexico however was powered by a 1.6 litre Kent Pushrod OHV four cylinder that produced 86 BHP.

The MK1 Escort was produced up until 1974 before the MK2 started to be produced that same year.

The MK2 Escort was released just after the MK1's production ended with a fresh and more angular design. Body style variants were still the same as the MK1 and engine choices were mostly the same four cylinder engines as the MK1 with the addition of a 1.6 litre variant of the OHC Pinto motor, a 1.8 litre Twin Cam Cosworth BDE and a 2.0 litre Twin Cam Cosworth BDG. The MK2 was also produced in New Zealand but at another factory in Wiri.

The MK2 Escort had even more sportier offerings due to Ford's continued competition in rallying. The RS2000 was still kept with the addition of an RS1800 that featured the Cosworth BDE motor and produced a healthy 125 BHP. For an additional cost, you could have a special edition widebody Escort called the X-Pack which is based on any of the RS range and is an incredibly rare vehicle.

The Escort was still immensely competitive in rallying, racking up countless privateer wins and with the RS1800 winning 20 rounds of the World Rally Championship between 1975 and 1981. Escorts are still contested in many rallies across the world still as they are a popular rear wheel drive platform that is prime for rallying. This is one of the main reasons why there is hardly any Esky's left as they were thrashed by many and driven into the ground due to them being great for rallying and racing but cheap and plentiful on the second hand market.

Rallying wasn't the only motorsport that they competed in, there was also Group 2 and Group 5 Escorts that were incredibly fast and super lightweight. They were also powered by BDG engines which could happily rev to the moon and back. Even today, Escorts are campaigned on the track all around the world and have gained quite a cult following.

Overall, the Ford Escort is truly one of the most iconic cars in history as many people grew up around them or owning them and they are an incredibly practical and fun car to drive.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more great articles on everything automotive!!!