RE: YKYWT: 1980 'Zakspeed' Ford Escort RS2000

RE: YKYWT: 1980 'Zakspeed' Ford Escort RS2000

Thursday 3rd November 2011

YKYWT: 1980 'Zakspeed' Ford Escort RS2000

How tough does this look? It's road-legal, too




We'll get the bad news out of the way first: it's possible that this car isn't in fact one of the five original Zakspeed Escorts, despite being magazine-featured as such.


The vendor is currently looking into the car's history to establish exactly what it is, but if it wasn't built by the famous German racing concern then by default it's probably one of the late Nick Whiting's (brother of F1 Race Director Charlie) cars, which still makes it a rare and desirable piece of kit.

The roof, door pillars, doors, windscreen and rear lights were the only exterior parts made by Ford. The rest of the body is a combination of aluminium and glass-fibre dropped over a steel spaceframe which results in a very light machine.


The estimated weight of around 650kg therefore seems plausible, and with a claimed 248bhp on tap from the 2.2-litre all-steel Pinto motor (a dyno run of which can be seen here) it would be a very lively car indeed.

It makes you wonder, though, what the Nick Whiting version must have been like with 430bhp of Cosworth V6 and something in the region of 600bhp/ton... There's some brief footage of it being given what-for at the end of this clip.

Whatever the Escort's true identity, it would certainly make a fast and very cool racing or track day car.


The price may seem a bit steep at £55k and could probably be negotiated more in your favour, but to build such a car from scratch would certainly demand a lot of time and effort and not a little funding.

Wouldn't you love to turn up at a circuit with it on a trailer being towed by a liveried-up one of these? Or better still just drive it there!

 




   

 

 

Author
Discussion

Galileo

Original Poster:

3,145 posts

217 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
I just had to google YKYWT to find out what it meant.

IFHA.

thewheelman

2,194 posts

172 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
fk yeah! I want that, infact, i think i need it! woohoo

attym3

7,259 posts

167 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Want
Want
Want
Want

mat205125

17,790 posts

212 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Love it cloud9

fourwheelsteer

869 posts

251 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Voted 10 only because the slider doesn't go up to 11. I think it is the vinyl roof that sets the car off to perfection.

leon9191

752 posts

192 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Coolest car I've ever seen. Love the brown stripe down the side its pure class.

Turbobanana

6,160 posts

200 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Granada tail lights?

And I like the way the Photoshop "number plate obliterating tool" has been misused in the second pic...

M666 EVO

1,124 posts

161 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Galileo said:
I just had to google YKYWT to find out what it meant.

IFHA.
LMFAO

Want that car BTW, loads!

TTFN

MichelV

133 posts

151 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Damn. I need to upgrade to the real thing, even if it isn't. I wonder what he would accept as bottom price.

I do however think you could build it for 55k. But the pattern parts are the problem.



I am now at 2.0L going to 210HP dynoed at the back wheels with Quaife Dogbox 4 speed.

michel

Tahiti

987 posts

246 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
That (and the Zakspeed Capris) is about as good as things get in the car world.

slikrs

125 posts

187 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Yes it is nice!

I'm just happy that my BGH T9 gearbox is close to being delivered so I can progress to getting my own RS2000 on the road though it hasn't got an all steel 2.2, just a balanced 2.1...

blade7

11,311 posts

215 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Tidy 996 GT2 money, behave, and before the haters jump in I do have history with the shape, mine cost me about 1/20 of this back in the day though.


MichelV

133 posts

151 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
650 kg. That is amazing !

Twincam16

27,646 posts

257 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
fourwheelsteer said:
Voted 10 only because the slider doesn't go up to 11. I think it is the vinyl roof that sets the car off to perfection.
yes all that motorsport modification, the weight reduction, the aerodynamic profiling, the race-preparation, and yet, this being the '70s, 'Remove the vinyl roof? Absolutely not! What do you take us for?!'

thewheelman

2,194 posts

172 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
blade7 said:
Tidy 996 GT2 money, behave, and before the haters jump in I do have history with the shape, mine cost me about 1/20 of this back in the day though.

Nice smile Imagine what that car would be worth now! Even bog standard 4 door mk2 Escorts fetch very good money on ebay.

Beyond Rational

3,524 posts

214 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Galileo said:
I just had to google YKYWT to find out what it meant.

IFHA.
And judging by the results, it isn't exactly catchy.

IMHO

soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Want!! cool

RESSE

5,692 posts

220 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
blade7 said:
Tidy 996 GT2 money, behave, and before the haters jump in I do have history with the shape, mine cost me about 1/20 of this back in the day though.

Blade7 - lovely!

Here is my effort:






pSyCoSiS

3,581 posts

204 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
That is one sexy looking machine.

Ihavcndygetinvan

23 posts

164 months

Thursday 3rd November 2011
quotequote all
Mmm lovley!!! Would be in my garage in a heartbeat!