The world was introduced to the Ford Escort
in 1968, a car designed to replace the aging
Anglia. The initial iteration was hardly revolutionary,
Ford in Germany understandably reluctant to
tool up for its manufacture. Any misgivings
proved unfounded, with the Escort going on
to establish itself as a tried and true performer,
both on the road and at the dealerships, along
the way helping Ford Germany recover an extra
2.2% share of the domestic market.
Important
to the success of the car were the rally versions,
starting out with the Escort Mexico, so named
after a rally prepared Escort took out the
1970 London to Mexico Rally. Joined by the
RS2000 model that was to define the quintessential
fast four genre, having Martin Shaw (a.k.a.
Ray Doyle) use one as his “motor” in
the cult show The Professionals would further
add to the mystique of the car.
Despite Australian’s
love affair with the trusty six cylinder, the
Escort would win over many converts, although
the majority of Escort’s to grace our
roads would be fitted with the larger 4 cylinder
versions, typically the 1.6 and 2.0 litre models. In 1979 Escort would add another World Rally
Championship trophy to the cabinet, to join
those won in 1968 and ’69. Boasting great
looks and sure-footed handling, the Escort
was undoubtedly the pick of the 4 cylinder
Ford’s.
1968 - 1975
The rear-wheel-drive Mk1 Escort came as an 1100 or
1300 and in both 2 or 4 door sedan, and in some markets
also as a two-door estate, or in sporty form as a GT
or Twin Cam. All the Escort engines were based on a
new Kent crossflow unit, which proved very suitable
for tuning and modification. More>>
1968 - 1970
While other sporting Ford's could be called sedans capable of being raced or rallied, the Twin-Cam Escort was unashamedly a racing sedan de-tuned for road use. In production form, with quantity sales needed to justify its homologaation as a Touring Car, the Twin-Cam gave the customer exactly what they expected More>>
1970 - 1974
The successful Escort Twin Cam was replaced by the more
powerful Escort in 1968, the RS1600. The letters "RS"
stood for "Rally Sport", a brand name invented by Ford
and one that continued for many years. Quickly the term
"RS" came to be known for high performance
Ford's. More>>
1975 - 1981
The first major styling revision occurred in 1975, giving
the Escort a crisp lean flowing style that was well in
proportion and arguably a cut above the small car offerings
emanating from Japan. The interior was always functional,
but was somewhat Spartan in comparison to the Japanese
cars – but on the plus side the seats were extremely
comfortable even on very long drives. More>>
1975 - 1981
For the over ten years that the Ford Escorts was
on the Australian market, it underwent many and
varied model improvements, including different
engines and changes to its image. Starting
off with the 1.1 litre Kent, they had six engines
in the next eight years, and by 1981 the 1.6 litre
was offered on the L Sedan, with the option of
the 2.01itre in the GL, and the 2.0 litre only
in the top-of-the-line Ghia. More>>
1975 - 1977
Based on the Mk II Escort the RS1800 closely followed
the original RS1600 concept. The RS1800 used a 1835cc
version of the Cosworth BDA engine and produced 115bhp.
Many special features were standard on the RS1800 including
stiffened suspension, wide wheels and an uprated gearbox. More>>
1976 - 1980
The RS2000 used a 110bhp Pinto engine which meant the
car could reach over 110mph. Cosmetically, the biggest
difference to the previous model was in the uniquely
angled GRP nose panel which contained four headlamps. More>>
1980 - 1986
The long-awaited 'Erika' was an expensive event for the Ford Motor Company, and revealed itself to be the Company's second front-drive model, but with an even more upmarket specification than the Fiesta which had brought them into the front-drive/transverse engine sector. More>>
1981- 1984
The concept of the RS 1600i Escort was defined in the prototype shown almost at the 1980 Frankfurt car show, and the definitive version of the car went on to be produced in the number of 5000 necessary for homologation in Group A. More>>
1986 - 1990
The Escort Mark III received a facelift in early 1986. Codenamed within Ford as "Erika–86", it was instantly recognisable as an updated version of the previous model, with a smooth style nose and the "straked" rear lamp clusters smoothed over. More>>
1981 - 1983
Ford's long serving rear-wheel-drive Escort was due for
replacement both here in Australia and in Europe. Through
various model updates and styling changes the Escort
was able to stay in service far longer than its mechanical
specifications suggested it should, although the smallest
of the Ford’s always had a huge allegiance of fans,
and we are sure many will take us to task on making this
claim. More>>
1983 - 1985
The Laser/Meteor range was a pleasantly straight forward product which had established itself as a number one in the small car market by the end of 1982, with sales in excess of 50,000. Meteor backed this performance right from its introduction in March 1983. More>>
