1995 Ford Escort Cosworth RS

Personal car of the Escort RS designer, Stephen Harper, for 23 years

Only one owner since. Totally original, lots of 1995 detail and 80,965 miles

Finished in Dark Aubergine with a rare Red and Grey Hex Velour Cloth interior

Comprehensive history file and Ford Owner's Pack with all the original paperwork

Unique 'Presentation Board'. A compilation of Stephen's Design Sketches and photos from the original development and styling phase

The successful bidder will have the opportunity to meet Stephen Harper and discuss the design story

N3 SJH is the personal car, owned from new by the designer of the "Escort Cosworth", Stephen Harper, and was purchased brand new by him from "Brooklyn Ford" in Redditch on 25th August 1995. The car is currently owned by a Ford enthusiast who acquired the car from Stephen Harper via Auto Sales Torbay, where Jason Dale ( RS Owners Club ) acted on Stephen's behalf to sell the car.

The car's specification is as follows;

Escort RS Cosworth Lux, 2.0-litre, 16-Valve YBT engine featuring Garrett T25 Hybrid Turbocharger. - finished in Dark Aubergine with a Red and Grey Hex Velour Cloth ( rather rare ). 4-Wheel Drive - Original Specification "Pirelli" 225 45 ZR 16 Asymmetric Tyres ( specially developed for the Escort Cosworth ) - 5-Speed manual Gearbox - Electric Tilt & Slide Sunroof - Heated "Quickclear" Screen - Heated and electric wing mirrors - ABS Electronic Anti-lock Braking, with Ventilated Discs front & rear and hydraulic assistance. - Current Mileage 80,965.

The car has been maintained at "Brooklyn Ford", to "Original Standard Ford Specification", for the vast majority of its life, with Stephen returning to the original dealership to maintain the car. The last service at "Brooklyn Ford" is recorded at 78,933 miles. The car was serviced by Cosworth Specialist Auto Dynamix prior to our vendor's purchase in 2015. ( Belts, oil etc ) The original specification "Pirelli" 225 45 ZR 16 Asymmetric Tyres are present and all carry very good tread, with Stephen having sourced, possibly one of the final sets available, just before selling the car in 2015.

The "History File" and "Full Ford Owners Manual Pack" contain every piece of information originally issued with the Cosworth and even the "Brooklyn Ford" paper wallet for the 3 sets of keys is still present – a very rare item in itself. In addition, – together with the "Ford Privilege Club" Order Form, the file also contains the original 'Purchase Invoice', 'Sales Receipt', and the DVLA "Cherished Numbers Invoice / Receipt" for N3 SJH. The original Ford exhaust is still doing its job, the "Brooklyn Ford" Dealership Plates, Main Dealer Sticker, and Tax disc holder are still in place as is the original stereo with all codes and paperwork in the history file.

The car's interior is in lovely condition with the rather rare "Red & Grey Hex Velour Cloth" appearing unmarked and the carpets are superb, helped by the existence of "Ford Original Carpet Floor Mats" – including the "Brooklyn Ford Contract Carpet Floor Mats" supplied with the car.

Stephen Harper"s dream as a 15-year-old boy whilst reading Autocar was to become a car designer, a dream that, pleasingly, came true. Having graduated from The Royal College of Art in Automotive Design, Stephen started at Austin Morris in 1974 as a Technical Apprentice following his father and great uncle at the firm. After the apprenticeship, he became involved in a number of projects over the years and has developed designs for Ford, Volvo, Rolls Royce, MG, Aston Martin amongst others. His involvement in the Escort RS Cosworth began whilst he was working for MGA Developments in Coventry, during 1989. Having worked with Ford on previous designs ( the Escort Van, Galaxy/VW Sharan and Mondeo projects ), he was invited to meet Stuart Turner, Rod Mansfield, and John Wheeler, together with Peter Horbury, Ron Saunders and MGA MD Mike Gibbs, to be briefed on the new CE14 Escort based project, code-named "ACE-14", an all-new rally car, based on a modified Sierra Cosworth floorpan. Ford"s Motorsport Division, needed a car to replace the, recently banned, Group B RS200 and to follow on from the early rallying successes of the Sierra RS Cosworth. MGA named the project in-house "Feral" – the domesticated cat gone wild, which truly summed up the spirit of the car! Stephen"s initial sketches were based around the requirements of Ford SVE with manufacturing partners, Karmann. Stephen"s designs incorporated plenty of air intakes and outlets, along with substantial bonnet air vents to meet John Wheeler's need for huge cooling intake capacity whilst the car was 100mph sideways on the dusty Acropolis Rally. He then developed the design of the Escort RS Cosworth together with Ford SVE, MGA, Karmann, and the Ford Styling Studio. All of Stephen's design development sketches and written history for the Escort Cosworth can be seen on his website at “SHADO” http://www.shado.co.uk/portfolio/design.php?id=20. His work is also featured in recent publications of "Fast Ford – 25th Anniversary of the Escort RS Cosworth" and "Classic & Sports Car – January 2017".

As a very special touch, N3 SJH comes with a fantastic "Presentation Board" showing a compilation of Stephen"s Design Sketches and photos from the development and styling of the Escort RS Cosworth. This board is unique and produced by Stephen himself, and was displayed whilst he was showing the RS at various car shows in the south of England. Stephen has also "Signed" the glovebox lid of "N3 SJH" - a lovely personal addition to his own Escort Cosworth.

As if the opportunity to buy an immaculate RS Cosworth with the remarkable provenance of having belonged to the model's designer was not enough, Stephen Harper has offered to meet the new owner (at a time to be mutually agreed), and review the original sketch designs and stories of the "Design and Development of the Escort RS Cosworth". A fantastic opportunity for any Ford nut or performance car enthusiast.

Unique is a word that's often misused, but most definitely not in this case.