Escort RS1600I hits the big time

The result may be a one-off (for now) but the RS1600I has roared into the limelight after ACA sold a superbly restored example for a mighty £31,320. That’s more than the top money for the rather quicker and equally worshipped RS Turbo S1 model. It also made mincemeat of ACA’S £17-19k estimate.

The RS1600I may be dismissed by some as a lairy precursor to the XR3I (which costs around a third of current RS values), but there’s a whole lot more to it than is suggested by an extra 10bhp, bigger wheels and slightly lowered suspension. It was a star from the off, especially here, 2608 of the 8659 built (in Germany) came to the UK. Those numbers tell much of the story because they are tiny for any Ford, so owning an RS1600I carries great bragging rights.

Don’t expect any others to sell for anything like this – it had after all covered a mere 246 miles since being restored by a Ford dealership – but do expect to see a number of these to appear on the market any time soon.