SUPER TOURING
Some of the most-expensive BTCC cars ever built, the 1999-2000 Super Touring Mondeos were out of this world — and this rebuilt survivor reveals why.
Some of the most-expensive BTCC cars ever built, the 1999-2000 Super Touring Mondeos were out of this world — and we’re not just talking about the spec. This rebuilt survivor reveals why.
When Ford sets out to win, winning big is the only option. The original GT40 was Uncle Henry’s revenge against Ferrari. The Sierra Cosworth came about because Capris were being trounced by Rovers. And as for the Mondeo Super Touring, it was the Blue Oval’s budget-busting way to blow away every rival in the BTCC (British Touring Car Championship) – a task it managed so easily that the 2000 crown was won by halfway through the season.
But success for the Mondeo didn’t come without heaps of failures. Indeed, it wasn’t until late in 1999 that Team Mondeo, run by Prodrive on behalf of Ford, started to scalp the opposition.
The car on these pages was an integral part of that process. Chassis 004 was the final Mondeo Zetec constructed by Prodrive for the 1999 season, and driven by Anthony Reid during the latter half of the year. Its main achievements were battling through Snetterton’s night race, and picking up a third place at Silverstone in the last race of 1999.
Not bad, but this particular Mondeo was also used by Prodrive to develop parts for the all-conquering 2000 BTCC weapons, being put into testing duties over winter with some of the fanciest hand-built goodies ever seen on a tin-top race car.
Exotic materials
We’re talking about cylinder heads that were said to cost more than Formula One parts. Underfloor aerodynamics using a flat-bottomed fuel tank. An engine mounted so low and far back into the bulkhead that the custom-made driveshafts ran through the vee of the V6 – itself a scarcely-recognisable unit based on the Ford Probe’s Mazda-sourced powerplant, reduced from 2500cc to 2-litres for BTCC eligibility, and overwhelmingly reworked by Prodrive in minute detail.
Team Mondeo was the epitome of nocompromise, no-excuses, cheque-book motorsport. Changes were made without a second thought, and each mega-budget race car was easily expendable.
Which explains why, after its usefulness was over, this million-pound Mondeo was discarded, and sold on to the privateer circuit-racing fraternity.
Alex Schooledge purchased the machine from a well-intentioned former keeper. “It was owned by a guy who bought it directly from Prodrive,” he recalls. “He kept it as something to look at more than to race, so it had been sitting around for 10 years in an open barn. I was looking for a project, so I made him an offer.”
To most of us, deciding to buy a retired, bona fide touring car would be an astronomical gamble. And to Alex… Well, it was no different. Despite spending half his working life restoring motorsport machines, nothing prepared him for the complexity of rebuilding a full-on BTCC legend.
Bodywork repairs presented the biggest problems, due partly to minor battle scars, but mainly owing to rust. Yes, this is essentially a low-mileage Mondeo hatchback plucked from the production lines 15 years ago, but that’s
where the similarity ends. Rumour has it that Ford selected 100 shells from the Genk factory, chopped, changed and slimmed down the steelwork, then continued assembly at Prodrive’s Banbury headquarters.
The inner wings were replaced by curved 2 mm alloy sheets, the chassis rails were strengthened, and the roof was temporarily removed to install a beautifully intricate roll cage.
No primer
In the quest for ultimate weight reduction, no primers were used prior to painting — there was just one glossy coat, and zero protection. Which explains why Alex found a whole load of corrosion beneath the decals.
“I thought it just needed a respray, but it was easier to replace than repair. The original stickers had to be scraped off because they’d been on so long, and then we stripped it down to a bare shell.
“It would take a day and a half alone to make standard doors fit. Their height is OK but you’d never get one to close where the rear quarters are beefed up, so we cut and shut new door skins.”
Fortunately, the hand-made steel front wings (they’re massively flared over 19 inch magnesium wheels, allowing plenty of steering lock) were fine after a bit of prep work. The plastic front and rear bumpers are new Mk2 Mondeo parts, their insides hacked away for lightness.
Rather than risk future rot, Alex opted for a bare-metal respray comprising several coats of primer, two blue, two yellow, with lacquer on
top. Half a day was then spent designing an exact replica of the 1999 livery. The finishing touches were those dramatic super touring wings, now reinforced and recovered with new carbon fibre.
Mechanically the Mondeo was complete, albeit not race-ready. The recently-rebuilt (hugely expensive) engine sealed the deal for Alex, featuring 2000-spec upgrades (682 of 806 components were reputedly modified or changed by Prodrive from the previous Cosworth set-up), along with a host of as-new spares.
“The suspension, discs, wheel bearings and pads were all too far gone to be reused, so we had everything replaced or reconditioned. You have to go for the same spec — you can’t take the gamble in case something else is wrong. All the suspension was hand-made to specific tolerances by Prodrive, but they’ve moved on so much that all the records and diagrams are gone.
“The dampers are very trick; in 1999 they were a major step ahead. Rebuilding could have been impossible, but I managed to track down a
Prodrive engineer from the BTCC days, and he still had all the spec sheets for the dampers, with special seals and bearings.”
Different drive
Alex had already tested the Mondeo before buying — raised on its internal air jacks, he could blast through every gear — but it’s fair to say he couldn’t prepare for the thrill of finally getting this monster back onto Tarmac.
“I wouldn’t say it’s hard to drive, but it is different,” he grins. “You can’t compare it with a road car. The driver is centred to the middle, and you sit by the B-pillars for weight distribution. There’s no power steering, no brake servo, and very little pedal travel. Any slight movement of the accelerator and you’re revving very highly.”
“I’d prefer it to stay in one piece, so I don’t know if we’ll race it or put it away and polish it.” Even so, he’s determined to get this legendary car out on track. But he’ll not be there to win. On no, he’ll be there to win big.
“THE DRIVER SITS RIGHT BACK BY THE B-PILLARS FOR BETTER WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION”