ESCORT RS1600

The Mk1 Escort is a legend for two very clear reasons: firstly, it was such an incredibly popular model that everyone has a story about them – either you owned one, or your parents or a mate or a neighbour or an uncle did… everyone’s got a link to it. And secondly, it made for a hugely successful competition machine. When FEV 1H took its astonishing victory on the 1970 London-Mexico rally, the world took notice. But it was the RS1600 road car that was the true genesis of the sporting Escort dynasty: in 1970, Ford gave official backing to the RS programme and set up Advanced Vehicle Operations (AVO), and the RS1600 was the first fruit of AVO’s labours. Taking the alreadyimpressive Twin Cam model, they strengthened the shell and bolted in a very special engine – the BDA. This featured the first block to be built in production numbers by Cosworth, mated to a 16-valve head, to provide 120bhp. In a rear-drive tearaway that weighed just 890kg, this made for an absolute hooligan. It was an incredible base for rally cars, and when Roger Clark started taking victories the model’s status as a legend was assured.

Having been homologated in October 1970, the RS1600 remained in production until 1975, although in that time it sold in low numbers due to its uncompromising nature as a road car – only 1,137 were built in total. But this was the car that kick-started the revolution; it was the first car in the UK to carry the Rallye Sport badge, so if you follow the bloodline back the RS1600 is the granddaddy of every RS model of the past 50 years.