1974 Ford Escort Mk1 RS2000

Vast and confidence-inspiring history file - including invoices, old MOTs and photographs

Ford enthusiast-owned and loved for many years

Drives extremely well with a few choice period upgrades

With their Escort doing so well in the rallying world, it made sense that Ford would try and sell developed versions beyond the usual homologation specials. The job of creating more widely-produced fast Escorts was left to Ford's new Advanced Vehicle Operations, based in Essex.

Following up on the RS1600 of 1970, which was quite a specialist car that demanded a lot of care and attention, came the Mexico and RS2000 which were far more suited to the man in the street. In June 1973, the Mexico was supplanted by the RS2000. The car fitted nicely into the AVO line up with its performance almost comparable to the complex RS1600, but with the same reliability and ease of maintenance as the Mexico. Importantly, the RS2000 utilised the same Type-49-body shell as the Mexico and RS1600. The RS2000 was the first Escort to be powered by the overhead cam four-pot, as Ford decided that their 2-litre "Pinto" engine was to be used in the new model. However, Ford faced the problem of persuading the bulky Pinto engine to fit into the engine bay. The only way of achieving this was to discard the engine driven cooling fan and replace it with a thermostatically controlled Kenlowe unit. When finally nestled in place, the Pinto engine produced 100bhp (2bhp more than in the Cortina). The RS2000 once again proved to be a quick and delightful car to drive, whilst being more accessible to buy and still offering customers a great choice in terms of colours and options.

The car presented here is a 1974 UK-market RS2000 in the striking colour of Olympic Blue. It was manufactured in August 1974 and still bears its original registration HWV 447N. The car is believed to be a matching numbers example, with both the chassis and engine number on the V5c being correct for a 1974 RS2000. In 1974, we are fairly sure that the RS2000 was available to spec with both a chin spoiler and a wooden dashboard, but these may have been added as choice in-period enhancements (like the strut-brace and Burton cam-cover) that owners often opted to fit to improve their cars.

The car has been owned by Ford RS enthusiasts over the years, who have all contributed to the large history file that accompanies it. There are Bills of Sale, numerous MOT Certificates (going back until the early 1980s), dozens of invoices, and much associated paperwork that all point to a diligent ownership history. This has been cherished car for a long time, which is evident from the way it drives and performs. Supplied with a UK V5c and a fresh MOT, this is a really well sorted classic Ford that looks, every inch, the period RS. Nobody can have failed to notice the swell of interest in Classic Fords, particularly the quick ones, and it doesn't look like abating any time soon.