1971 Ford Escort RS 1600 BDA

The Mark 1 Ford Escort was introduced at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1968 and soon became a commercial success as an everyday car followed by development into a succesful competition car, eventually becoming one of the most successful rally cars of all time.

The Ford works team was practically unbeatable in the late 1960s / early 1970s, and arguably the Escort's greatest victory was in the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally being driven by Finnish legend Hannu Mikkola. This gave rise to the famous Escort Mexico (with the 1.6 L "Kent"-engine) special edition road versions in honour of the rally car.

In addition to the Mexico, the RS1600 was developed using an engine that was essentially a detuned Formula 3 unit designated BDA, (Belt Drive A Series). Both the Mexico and RS1600 were built at the now famous Ford Advanced Vehicle Operations (AVO) facility located at the Aveley Plant in South Essex. As well as higher performance engines and sports suspension, these models featured strengthened bodyshells, making them ideal for rallying.

Even today Mark I Escorts are still very popular in the Historic rally scene with their reputation for a great balance of power and handling, making them true driver's cars. The BDA engine emits a distinctive and appealing 'growl' which can be heard for quite a distance when the vehicle is being driven hard.

The car offered for sale today was first registered on 5th January 1971 by its owner Paul Corkhill who registered it with the AVO Club in 1988.

The car was stored by Paul for some years before being sold on to Francis Morris, another AVO member of Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, in 2003, who restored the car to the highest standards, including an engine and gearbox rebuild.

The engine is confirmed as the 546th built by Harper Engineering who used to assemble the early BDA engines for Ford.

The facts were confirmed by William Arnold the AVO Club's RS1600 Secretary who proved an extremely useful source of information, together with other marque experts, who confirmed that during it's life the car had 'grown' the 'bubble' wheelarches and had been fitted with some now very rare original factory 'Special Build Programme' additions and repainted in Daytona Yellow - which looks stunning!

In 2006 the car was sold to Ken Henderson of HASS Motorsport, a hugely-respected Escort and Rally specialist in County Donegal, before being displayed at Hegarty Auto Services' Showroom - the main Ford Dealers in Donegal. It is now fitted with a 5-speed close-ratio gearbox but for the purist the original gearbox is supplied.

KWU 339 J recently featured in Retro Ford Magazine, as a 6 page article from which the following quotes are taken... " It's a truly fabulous car..." "There is something rather special about this car." "It looks so good, feels so right and is a joy to drive. There are so few original cars left and I'm really pleased to have found this one."

Acknowledged as quite possibly one of the best examples in existence - of interest to collectors and investors alike - this is an opportunity not to be missed particularly as it benefits from many rare period items which are all in fabuluous condition.