1981 Ford Escort (Mk3) XR3 - 10,000km

For the Mk3 Escort, Ford went front-wheel drive with what would soon be its biggest-selling model, along with a brand-new overhead-cam engine that had cost £500,000,000 to develop. It was crucial to the company’s success, and it worked. But what to do about the high-performance flagship? Motorsport honours were not the immediate focus, but the market demanded a sporting model, with a new name to avoid comparison with rear-drive RS Escorts.

The designation came from US, where it had featured on the Mercury Cougar XR-7, the first XR in Europe was the XR3, pitched as a volume-selling sporty variant rather than a limited-run homologation special. That role went to the RS 1600i in 1981 and later the RS Turbo.

The XR3 faced strong opposition in the front-drive hot-hatch market, including VW’s well-established Golf GTi - Motor wrote: 'The Escort… is more attractively finished and looks terrific – few mass-production cars have ever attracted as much favourable interest from passers-by as our XR3 test car.'

No one could do ‘go-faster’ quite like Ford and at its unveiling in August 1980, the XR3 represented a master class in addenda-driven design. The whale-tail spoiler and the distinctive cloverleaf alloy wheels both became instant classics. Its 1.6-litre, compound valve-angle, hemispherical combustion chamber (CVH) engine - hailed as the height of modernity - mated to a twin-venturi Weber carburettor, meant it could sprint along with 96bhp at 6000rpm offering 0-60 in 9.2 seconds and a top speed of 113mph.

The car presented here is a 1981 Ford Escort (Mk3) XR3 and was, according to a UK-based marque expert (who researched/inspected it in November 2023), built by Ford South Africa, at their Neave plant in Elizabeth Bay. It left the factory in October 1981 fitted with the 1.6-litre CVH (non-fuel injected) engine, a 5-speed manual gearbox and finished in Silver Cloud, an SA market colour. Being an early example of its type, there are numerous unique production features, all still present and correct.

Still accompanied by its original book pack, owner’s manual, spare key and lots of period paperwork, it came to the UK earlier this year, having been snapped up by a Ford enthusiast. Now UK-registered, it has been serviced and driven only occasionally over the summer months and the indicated mileage is now just under 10,500km. The car appears as solid, unspoilt and original as any collector would want with lots of unique, early production details for those in the know. The paintwork and panels, as we understand, are all as it left the factory and the Special Laser fabric trim in Red/Grey (Code TF), along with the small, first-generation, 2-spoke steering wheel also remain in fantastic, preserved condition.

A superb example of this legendary contender in the 1980s 'hot hatch' war, unmolested and just as Ford intended. It would grace the home of any serious Ford collector or enthusiast and will surely be one of the stars of any Blue Oval event. With less than 100 reported to be left on the road, is this one of best, lowest-mileage XR3 left?