FORD ESCORT RS 1600i
Year of manufacture 1983 Recorded mileage 346 (since restoration)
Asking price £42,000 Vendor Peter Vardy Heritage, Holytown, North Lanarkshire; 0131 608 2504; petervardy.com/heritage
WHEN IT WAS NEW
Price £7024 Max power 113bhp Max torque 109lb ft 0-60mph 8.7 secs Top speed 119mph Mpg 36.7
No one here at C&SC was remotely surprised when they saw what I’d picked this month. I was innocently flicking through the magazine and it jumped out at me – it gave me no choice. Seeing one recently reminded me what a fantastic statement they still make and how well their now 40-year-old lines are ageing.
You can’t help think that prices of Mk3 Escorts will soon head skyward as those of their predecessors have done. Not that this car’s £42k asking price at Peter Vardy Heritage is pocket money, mind you. But then it is a homologation special, one that helped the Blue Oval claim good – if not sparkling – Group A results in the hands of Louise Aitken-walker and Malcolm Wilson in rallies, and Richard Longman and Alan Curnow in the British Saloon Car Championship. And that had an effect in the showrooms, too – the original 5000-unit sales target was shattered, with 8659 finding new homes between 1981 and ’83.
This example is particularly special, having been the subject of a no-expense-spared, bare-metal restoration back to standard, factory spec. This work encompassed the exterior, interior, engine, gearbox, alloys (they’re the originals) and brakes – and it’s covered just 346 miles since. So you can understand why the vendor describes it as: ‘An incredible car [that] really is a timewarp and is a rare opportunity to own a piece of Ford motoring history.’
Outside, the evocative decals, spotlights and spoiler delight, while inside it’s an ’80s wonderland – albeit restrained compared to more recent motorsport-inspired cars. No loud seatbelts or floormats, no rock-hard bucket seats and no plaques reminding you what you’ve bought. Low-key ‘RS’ branding at the centre of the four-spoke wheel is quite enough, thank you. You may welcome the cassette player because there’s no tailpipe trickery here, and Ford’s uprated 1597cc CVH ‘four’ – no twin-cam exotica for the Mk3 – isn’t known for having a sensational soundtrack. But that’s all part of the period joy of such a car.
I don’t like questioning whether this car’s next owner should put some miles on it or tuck it away: the raison d’être of any car bearing the RS badge is to be driven and enjoyed. But howmanyleft.co.uk reckons there are now just 89 on British roads, and this is a pristine example following its open-chequebook rebirth. Either way, it deserves to be cherished, cared for and admired, and if it appreciates then its next owner will be in a prime position – although I think I’d rather bide my time with a smile on my face from the driving seat.