Special factory one-off — or is it?
Some people will tell you that a Series One RS Turbo should always be Diamond White, though numerous builds over the years have proven otherwise. But what we’re seeing here is something different – a nut-and-bolt concours restoration that deliberately deviates from stock in one very noticeable way…
Classic Ford enthusiasts who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s will have been on a special and diverse journey with the RS Turbo. The Series One has grown into an icon of its age, and it was pretty special back then. Any suspicions around the switch from rear to front-wheel-drive with the Mk3 platform were helpfully brushed aside by the XR3 and its subsequent fuel-injected evolution, and the limited homologation run of the RS1600i, but the RS Turbo helped to harness the truly exciting buzzword of the age: ‘Turbo’. It said it right there on the badge in big letters.
Nowadays, forced induction is everywhere, but back in the synthpop era, a turbo was a badge of honour. In addition to this, the rakish hot hatch sported an exuberant bodykit, and was only offered in one colour: Diamond White.
Over the years we saw these peppy little tearaways pass through the tiger stripe phase, into the time of ostentatious bodykits and fibreglass addenda, before emerging (in severely depleted numbers) into the sepia-tinted realm of modern-classic restoration. A Series One RS Turbo today is not a cheap car, that’s for sure, and restoring one to non-standard spec takes a couple of brave pills. Thankfully, Rod and Mick at R&M Classic Cars have a broad outlook on such matters; while their business exists in part to perfectly restore classics to period-correct concours perfection, they also enjoy getting involved with a bit of custom work. The car you see here is a fusion of these diverse approaches — period-perfect with a twist. Consider how these cars were traditionally modified in the past, then apply the values of today’s modifying scene; OEM+, clean and smooth. And, of course, we can’t ignore the element of fashion… you may well have read in the news recently that grey has topped the colour chart list for new cars, and this enthusiasm is reflected in the modified car scene. We’re seeing more and more high-end builds sporting Audi’s Nardo Grey or Ford’s Stealth Grey. When you stir all of these things together, you arrive at C368 LOJ: a beautifully restored Series One RS Turbo, in a fashion-forward modern paint shade, with an oh-so-’90s wheel upgrade choice. The self-styled Grey Edition ticks a lot of boxes.
Seeing differently
“We’ve restored a few Series Ones,” says Rod Alderson, casting an approving eye over his gleaming creation. “We just decided we wanted
to do it a little differently this time, and built the RS Turbo Grey Edition to get people talking.” There was certainly a buzz around the car when we first saw it displayed at the Autosport show at the NEC, with most of the conversations we overheard debating whether or not Ford ever officially made a grey Series One. (Spoiler alert: they didn’t.)
Rod is in many ways the ideal person to carry out such a transformation, as his automotive history positively bristles with aspirational and interesting fare.
“I’ve owned a lot of cars, from a Vauxhall Viva to an Audi RS7 as well as Aston Martins and Porsches, along with all the classic Fords,” he explains. “My daily is an M-Sport Transit, and Mick’s is an Audi A4 TDi which we call The Dog.” A wide skillset indeed, and it’s a lifetime of enthusiasm which has seen these kindred spirits build a business focusing on classic restorations to an incredibly high — even obsessive — standard. All of which makes the deviation from Diamond White all the more intriguing here.
“WE’VE RESTORED A FEW SERIES ONES, SO WANTED TO DO THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME TO GET PEOPLE TALKING”
“The Escort was not in great condition when I bought it,” he continues. “We totally stripped the car down to a shell, put it on a rollover jig, then stripped it all back to bare metal to see what was what. The list of panels that had to be renewed ended up being quite long, and includes the inner wings, front scuttle, sills, wings, battery tray, bonnet, front panel, inner rear quarters, and the panel under the fusebox.”
It took a huge amount of graft to get the shell up to spec, not least because of Rod and Mick’s insistence on perfection, but once it was finally all complete they treated it to two coats of epoxy primer across the whole shell and Gravitec stonechip underneath, to ensure that it’d last the duration this time around. “The repairs and panel replacement and so on took around a month,” Rod recalls, “and in the end we painted it in a colour similar to Nardo Grey, with some custom Grey Edition decals made up in black.”
Do it right
This restoration was about more than just the eye-catching bodywork, naturally. R&M’s MO is to restore holistically, so every element of the car had to be perfected. The CVH turbo motor is in a stock state of tune and has been fully rebuilt, with a new turbo, new pistons, new bearings, a rebore, the valves reground, new lifters, and it’s topped off with a Mongoose stainless steel exhaust system — because the bigger pipe just looks right, and provides the sound an RS Turbo needs to make. The intercooler, radiator and master cylinder are also new, and this level of attention to detail has been lavished upon the chassis too: on that pristine, gleaming underside you’ll find new rear tie bars and shackles, a new petrol tank, new brake drums and cylinders… This is a thorough nut-and-bolt rebuild, with every single clip, nut and fastening renewed and all suspension components powder-coated for longevity as well as aesthetics.
“Everything we could buy new, we bought,” Rod assures us. “Anything we couldn’t buy was sympathetically refurbished. The car also has new genuine headlights, indicators, spotlights, and bumper overriders.”
All of this adds up to the kind of RS Turbo we haven’t seen before. In period, these cars were modified for performance and looks in the style of the times, and while that thread has continued to a degree, the spiralling values of these increasingly obscure classics means that many are being carefully restored to factory standard. But R&M’s approach breaks the mould: the quality is impeccable — better than new, even — but the twist they’ve given the finish creates something unique. Sure, we’ve seen many non-white Series One RS Turbos over the years, but none with this restored-tooriginal approach beneath the new paint. Does this Grey Edition set a precedent for highquality restoration deviancy? That remains to be seen — but with Rod and Mick already working on a black S1 sister car, we can see the way the tide’s turning and we like it. Concours-standard restorations, not carried out cynically for profit, but instead to create something cool. And ‘something cool’ is what the RS Turbo has been right from the start.