ESCORT MEXICO
It won an epic rally, then it won the hearts of performance enthusiasts. Even though it’s now insanely expensive, the Mk1 Escort Mexico is an investment worth making, says Phil White.
Britain is a football-mad nation, but creating one of your most celebrated models for the Beautiful Game? That’s next-level stuff. Yet that’s exactly what happened a couple of years after England’s 1966 World Cup victory. The 1970 competition was to be in Mexico, and a marathon motorsport event was conceived to literally link the two tournaments. Being a big hitter in the sport, Ford committed to running a sevencar works team in the London to Mexico World Cup Rally.
Ford had two performance Escorts on its books, the Lotus Ford-powered Twin Cam, and the RS1600 which packed a Cosworth BDA, but it quickly realised that for this event something special would be required. The rally was immense and intense, a 16,000-mile odyssey traversing 20 countries. Neither the Twin Cam nor the RS1600 was judged reliable enough – they were homologation cars developed for shorter stage rallies and circuit racing.
Accordingly, Ford developed a car to compete in the Mexico rally. It used the same reinforced Type 49 shell as its performance siblings, but under the bonnet was an 1834cc Crossflow engine giving 140bhp. The investment bore fruit. Hannu Mikkola piloted his car to World Cup Rally victory, while team mates came third, fifth, sixth and eighth.
After six months, the Escort Mexico was launched. It was the production version of the rally car, so in the Type 49 shell’s engine bay was a road-ready version of the 1.6-litre Crossflow lifted from the Cortina GT. Ford mated it with a twin-choke Weber carburettor and a four-branch exhaust manifold. The result was 85bhp at 5500rpm, and 92lb.ft of torque at 4000rpm. It was paired with the equally proven and reliable Cortina 2000E gearbox.
The chassis was uprated, with the Lotus Cortina’s tougher rear axle. The ride height was a little lower. It used the same disc and drum brake combination as the Twin Cam and RS1600, plus the Lotus Cortina’s lovely 5.5x13in steel wheels.
The Mexico was produced by Ford’s Advanced Vehicle Operations at Aveley, beside the other sporting models. Ford was always good at catch phrases, and presented it as ‘the road-going version of the rally winner.’ “Gentlemen,” declared its advert, “except for a more economical power plant and a few other nice little improvements, the same car that beat the world.”
The gentlemen and ladies of the general public loved it, but then it was a very lovable car. It was lively, able to sling its 851kg mass to 62mph in 10.4 seconds and power on to 99mph. The ingear performance was sparkling. It sounded fantastic, a joyous symphony of intake racket and exhaust song. Even better, the car looked great. A lairy stripe kit was an option, but one that many buyers specified. Ford was always very good at packaging, so its rather spartan interior struck the right note. It sported an alloy instrument binnacle and a lovely, dished Springalex wheel. Somewhere in my house is a picture of three month-old me perched in the dish of my dad’s steering wheel. He took the DIY route, building his own Mexico into an AVO shell in 1970. Sadly, the car eventually had to make way for a cheap Triumph and a freezer as parenthood tightened its literally-icy grip on his life.
The Mexico was hugely popular with drivers inclined towards motorsport, and AVO would sell you a car via its Special Build programme created ready for the type of event in which you wished to compete. Sadly, many met their demise on rallies. Many more were crushed when endemic rot finally got the better of them, but thanks to unwavering enthusiasm for all sporting Fords and the Mexico in particular, a surprising number have survived the last 53 years intact. Production continued until 1975, when the AVO plant closed, having made 10,352 Mexicos.
“How much does a rally winner cost?” demanded the Ford advert. “You’d expect it to cost a bomb. (That’s what it cost us.) But we’re only asking £1150.” But now, things have gone full circle. A Mexico with good provenance – many replicas have been created over the years – will cost you, well, a bomb. I’m not terribly familiar with the armaments market, but an actual bomb might well be cheaper than this flash Ford. However, it’s unlikely to be as enjoyable, and it certainly won’t continue to appreciate in the way a Mexico will.