Mk5 RS2000 vs RENAULT 19
The phrase ‘there are few historical periods more remote than the recent past’ may now be something of a cliché, but this doesn’t mean that it no longer holds true. To see the bright red Escort RS2000 and Renault 19 16v patrolling the mean streets of Dagenham is to recall a lost era of ‘Cyber Cafes’ and the days when Have I Got News for You was still funny.
When the fifth-generation Escort took a bow in September 1990, it did not meet with universal approval. Motorists complained about its torsion-bar rear suspension, how bland it looked in comparison with the outgoing Mk4 and, worst of all, that it seemed to be built down to a price. The RS2000 that arrived two years later was more than simply a sporting Escort in the great tradition: it also spearheaded a revitalisation of the Mk5’s image. Under the bulging bonnet lay a Sierra-derived twin-cam, 16-valve engine with EEC IV electronic management, while inside there were grippy Recaro seats – essential for any early-’90s enthusiast.
Graham Marshall’s RS2000 is a genuine one-family-owned car. “My father bought it in 1992,” he explains. “When he passed away in 1994 it went to my mother, and thereafter to me.” As with the Mk1, the RS2000 is unusual in that it is all-original. “So many have been modified or raided for parts,” says Marshall of the
‘THE RS WAS NOT ONLY A GREAT SPORTING ESCORT, BUT ALSO SPEARHEADED A REVIVAL OF THE MK5’S IMAGE’
now-rare sporting model. “I love the handling, too – it really does feel as though it is on rails!”
Appearing opposite the Ford is a car that remains one of the most underrated hot hatchbacks of its era. The Renault 19 16v blends the hottest Clio’s powerplant with styling that sits just on the right side of the flamboyance/vulgarity divide. The 19 had been in production for two years when La Régie unveiled the 16v in late 1990, during which time it had not exactly earned a reputation for charisma. But with the new flagship, Renault dealers could now offer, to quote Car magazine (January 1991), a car that felt ‘special all the time’. This is an opinion shared by Andrew Waller, owner of the survivor featured here: “My 19 is a 1991 Phase 1 model, so it has the ‘bodykit’ look as opposed to the more subtle Phase 2 – although the car is completely stock. It is just such a good Renault to drive and the engine is so flexible.”
Production of the 19 ceased in France in ’96 and the final Mk5 was built the following year. The Escort name was last seen on a new Ford in 2004, by which time it had come to symbolise an entire market sector. The spicy RS2000 makes a grand conclusion to our trip to Dagenham; it’s an Escort in the true spirit of the 1968 Twin Cam. For me, however, the car of the day has to be the Mk1. The engine note alone is enough to return those of us of a certain age to another world – and another time.
Thanks to Ford Heritage (www.ford.co.uk); British Motor Museum (www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk); Magic Spells Brewery (www.magicspellsbrewery. co.uk); Affordable Classics (www.affordable classics.co.uk); Vauxhall Heritage (www.vauxhall. co.uk); Ford RS Owners’ Club (www.rsownersclub. co.uk); Maestro & Montego OC (www.maestro. org.uk); Mk1 Golf OC (www.vwgolfmk1.org.uk); Renault OC (www.renaultownersclub.com); XROC (www.xroc.co.uk); Sporting Escort OC (www.seoc. co.uk); Vanden Plas OC (www.vpoc.info)