1988 Ford Escort RS Turbo. Series 2

The 'Series 2' Escort RS Turbo (produced between 1986-1990) was much more approachable on the road, whereas the earlier car was, in reality, a bit of a 'homologation special'. Many new features were adopted for the Series 2 including utilising the 1600cc, fuel-injected CVH engine from the Series 1 Turbo but now fitted with the Garret T3 turbo (water-cooled, unlike the S1), revised engine management settings, lower overall gearing, an improved gearbox and limited-slip differential, a larger clutch, improved KE Jetronic unit, and an inter-cooler. Suspension and chassis changes included stiffer front and rear springs, uprated anti-roll bars, mechanical ABS and larger brakes. The Series 2 car produced an impressive 132bhp at 5750 rpm, with maximum torque of 133 lb/ft at 2750 rpm, giving it serious performance with a top speed of 125 mph and a 0-60mph time of 8.3 seconds. Although on paper, these figures were a tad down on the Series 1, the new car was considerably easier to drive quickly and, effectively, was a faster car.

This sparkling Black Escort RS Turbo Series 2, was delivered new by Hartford Motors of Grimsby to its first excited owner, John Richardson of Immingham on February 5th, 1988. He presumably enjoyed E771 PFU as he kept it until 2012 when the mileage was in the mid-16,000s. It was obviously his pride and joy as, towards the end of his ownership, the car was only used for special occasions but regularly MoT'd and fastidiously maintained. In fact the MoT record shows that from July 2005, MoT Certificates were granted at 15,907, 15,974, 16,011, 16,116, 16,160, 16,242, 16,325 and in August 2012 the mileage was 16,459.

The car's second owner was Gary Jones who had been looking for some time for the best RS Turbo he could find. Although E771PFU was in splendid condition and had patently been looked after all its life, he was keen to go a little bit further and create a 'Concours' winner which is exactly what he did. His attention to detail was remarkable, as evidenced by the photographs of the underneath of this remarkable RS, and he was rewarded with various accolades culminating with a top award from the RS Owner's Club Concours at Croft. Having gone as far as he could go in creating “the best Series 2 RS Turbo in the UK” another project beckoned and Gary sold the car to a friend. The car's next custodian was Mickey Stewart who is a committee member of the Ford RS Owner's Club and a passionate RS enthusiast who naturally continued to look after it before, in time, passing it on to our vendor to add to his collection.

The RS is accompanied by its book pack containing the fully stamped Service Record (all Ford apart from one marque specialist) showing the last oil service and MOT was carried out by Haynes of Maidstone on 11/03/16 at 17,007 miles, its Owner's Manuals, 3 keys, and a number of invoices for normal 'wear and tear' over the years including battery, tyres, a new fuel tank and fuel system, cam belt tensioners, suspension bushes, wiper arms etc.

The indicated mileage is currently 17,048 and the car will be freshly MoT'd by the time of the sale.

When describing a car's condition, we are discouraged from using the words “Flawless, Immaculate, Mint, Unmarked and as Good as New”, however, it is difficult to describe this gleaming little RS without dipping into that bag of adjectives. Come along to the sale, bring a mirror and a magnifying glass, and form your own opinion.