Thursday 3rd November 2011

YKYWT: 1980 'Zakspeed' Ford Escort RS2000

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

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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!

 

 

 

[Galileo]

I just had to google YKYWT to find out what it meant.

IFHA.

[thewheelman]

fk yeah! I want that, infact, i think i need it!

[attym3]

Want
Want
Want
Want

[mat205125]

Love it

[fourwheelsteer]

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]

Coolest car I've ever seen. Love the brown stripe down the side its pure class.

[Turbobanana]

Granada tail lights?

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

[M666 EVO]

Galileo said:

I just had to google YKYWT to find out what it meant.

IFHA.

LMFAO

Want that car BTW, loads!

TTFN

[MichelV]

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]

That (and the Zakspeed Capris) is about as good as things get in the car world.

[slikrs]

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]

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]

650 kg. That is amazing !

[Twincam16]

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.

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]

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

[Beyond Rational]

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]

Want!!

[RESSE]

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]

That is one sexy looking machine.

[Ihavcndygetinvan]

Mmm lovley!!! Would be in my garage in a heartbeat!