Chassis No.: BB49JM13953

Engine No.: tbc

The Mk. I Ford Escort was introduced in Ireland and the UK at the end of 1967, making its show debut at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1968. It replaced the successful, long-running Ford Anglia. The front suspension and steering gear were differently configured and the brakes were fitted with dual hydraulic circuits; also the wheels fitted on the Genk-built Escorts had wider rims. At the beginning of 1970, continental European production transferred to a new plant on the edge of Saarlouis, West Germany. They were hailed as an immediate success both domestically on the roads and for motor sport, particularly rallying.

A higher performance version for rallies and racing was available, the Escort Twin-Cam, which was built for Group 2 international rallying. It had an engine with a Lotus-made eight-valve twin camshaft head fitted to the 1.5 L non-crossflow block, which had a bigger bore than usual to give a capacity of 1,558cc. This engine had originally been developed for the Lotus Elan. The Mk. I Escorts were incredibly successful and they eventually went on to become one of the most successful rally cars of all time.

This fabulous matching numbers example is finished in white with black interior and was restored in 2004 by the previous owner, using only original parts and the car has covered very little mileage since. There is a photo album showing the restoration and the attention to detail that was made. This Escort comes with an Historic Validation Certificate as well as good history file. This surely must be one of the best examples of this iconic British sports car and would grace any collection or be the start guest at any classic rally show.

https://www.historics.co.uk/auction/lot/?lot=16287&au=62