Ford Escort RS2000: PH Heroes
The less exotic fast old Escort, but a hugely charismatic one nonetheless
So let's get this out of the way early. The RS1800 is without doubt the purest and most extreme Ford Escort Mk2. Powered by the same hand-built Cosworth BDA (Belt-Driven type A, based on the old Kent) as the Mk1 RS1800, it's a truly legendary car. But there's a big problem: only a little over 100 were ever built*.
Most of those were race cars, many were crashed and most of the decent ones have long ago been sold into a lifetime of polythene bags and dehumidifiers.
What we're saying is; if you want to enjoy a bit of late '70s oversteer, and don't have a winning lottery ticket to hand, the Mk2 RS1800 might just be a bit of a stretch. Sure, it housed a high-revving, Cosworth Belt-Driven Type A motor, but that's no good if you can't buy one or even drive one.
And that's why we've plumped for the RS2000 as a PH Hero. Yes, it might lack the credibility and glimpse-into-the-future tech of a 16-valve motor but at least you can still buy one for less than a new Focus RS. For now.
Turn back time
And let's check the stats. That 2.0-litre Pinto puts out 110hp where a stock BDA musters 115hp. The dry weights are 941kg for the RS2000 versus 915kg for the RS1800. Not a million miles out, neither in performance nor in experience.
Slide into the soft Recaros and it's like taking a step back in time. Those 'fishnet' headrests, the big 'CUSTOM' badge in the dash, and that super-solid black leather steering wheel. This is pure 20th century working man's chic. It's the car you wish your dad had bought.
Pull the choke lever, turn the key, and this particular example barks into an excitedly enthusiastic fast idle. The only non-standard part of Chris Hoey's 1979 RS2000 is a period K&N air filter stuck on to the top of the OEM Weber 32/36mm twin venturi carb.
"Dual 40mm Webers, or even 45mms, were an option," he admits. "But as far as I can tell, the car has been standard all of its life and I'm trying to keep it that way. I'm looking for an original airbox."
The steadying rumble and rasp from the exhaust suggest it's time to push the choke back in a little and go for a drive. Excitement and enthusiasm abounds inside the cockpit. This particular example isn't just rust-free and shiny, it's also had more than its original purchase price spent on servicing in the last year alone. Driving it on the roads of 2015 seems like time travel, or witchcraft.
Hang on tight
So you might rightfully imagine that a car such as this would be as 'pure' a PH experience as you could hope for. And in many ways it undoubtedly is. But the unassisted steering is hardly a bastion of feel and feedback. Grip that remarkably well-made wheel, and point the Escort down a bumpy back road and hang on tight, but not too tight.
The simple chassis of the Escort, with its leaf-sprung, solid rear axle, is utterly unsophisticated. A 60mph sweeper with a bump in the middle is enough of a shock to induce a number of oscillations in everything from the car to your own rear dump valve.
The front wheel hits, the wheel dances merrily. Then fractions later, the rear axle hits and the whole car shimmies a few inches while you, the pilot of this merrily haphazard vessel, adopt a fixed grin and tell yourself something along the lines of: "They don't make 'em like they used to!" Well, of course not. Or we'd all be dead. And happy about it too.
And that's the wonderful dichotomy of driving any classic car in a world of 200hp Fiesta STs, 450hp BMW M4s and 670hp Ferrari 488s. It's easy to poke holes in the newest cars, and declare that they've lost 'it' over previous generations. But it's often hard to put a quantifiable measurement on what 'it' is.
Whatever that X-factor is, the Escort RS2000 definitely possesses bags of it.
Legal high
In fact, there's a temptation to offer a direct comparison to an E30 M3 or maybe a first-generation MX-5. But even those two differing examples of simple RWD fun can't quite match the wobbly hilarities and irresponsible sense of danger of pedalling this Escort hard down a country lane. They're both better, and they're both much faster too. Because legal speeds in the RS2000 become a target, rather than a limitation.
You know you've found the right roads for the Escort when you can start to stir that 4-speed gearbox a bit. Revving out all the way to 6,000rpm is no problem for the RS, though it's best up to around 5,500rpm, truth be told.
Zooming out of 30mph limits, hedges brushing door handles. That's the Escorts forte, along with turning any boring suburban errand into a test of driver skill and nerve. You see owning, or just briefly driving, a classic sports car like this Escort doesn't take anything away from your modern stuff, but it does bring it all into focus a little.
"I've got a VW Golf R as my everyday car," points out Chris. "And it makes utter mincemeat of the Escort in every way possible. It's an amazing study in just how far cars have come, but I don't love either one of them any less after driving the other."
So forgive us for not choosing the unarguably superior twin-cam RS1800, but we think the whole point of fast Fords is to get out there and drive it. And with an RS2000, you can. For now.
FORD ESCORT RS2000
Engine: 1,993cc four-cyl
Transmission: 4-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 110hp@5,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 119@4,000rpm
0-62mph: 8.6 seconds
Top speed: 109mph
MPG: Yes
CO2: Probably a lot
Price: £2,857 new (anywhere between £10K and £30K now)
*According to the RS Owners Club there were 109 RS1800s without any official numbers from Ford.
I always took a different view and ended up with a Saab Turbo, but 30 years later do accept that this is a car I should have owned. As you say though - lottery win required these days
The nearest I got in period was a 1300 Ghia, which to be fair drove very well. Remember the high-set steering wheel?
At the same time as Ford were selling these, Porsche were selling the 924, which I think retailed for about twice what the Escort did, it was more powerful (125 bhp) and more capable as it had independent rear suspension, plus it was several times better quality, a nice 924 is about three grand now but it seems not to matter as everybody wants the Escort, the Porsche has very little image in comparison.
Early 911s (younger that the RS2000 and based on a car from the 1960s) are still amazing to drive and quick on tighter bumpy roads. See this video of a 991 GT3 having to work quite hard to keep up with one (yes if there had been some long straights and the GT3 driver wanted to disregard speed limits he could have got away but such roads are much less interesting than ones where you struggle to reach the speed limits because of the number of bends).
https://youtu.be/F0sZUXKRxsE?list=UUbFNwIlodfAExSO...
A hot rod 911 is more than an RS2000 but less than double what you would pay for a mint RS2000. I am not dissing the RS2000. I would love to have one, even if it is dynamically limited in comparison.
At the same time as Ford were selling these, Porsche were selling the 924, which I think retailed for about twice what the Escort did, it was more powerful (125 bhp) and more capable as it had independent rear suspension, plus it was several times better quality, a nice 924 is about three grand now but it seems not to matter as everybody wants the Escort, the Porsche has very little image in comparison.
My father had a Yellow Mk1 Mexico and we were gutted when the arrival of brother number 2 meant we replaced it with an Avenger estate and not the RS2000 my Dad had wanted.
At the same time as Ford were selling these, Porsche were selling the 924, which I think retailed for about twice what the Escort did, it was more powerful (125 bhp) and more capable as it had independent rear suspension, plus it was several times better quality, a nice 924 is about three grand now but it seems not to matter as everybody wants the Escort, the Porsche has very little image in comparison.
Can't argue with that sort of publicity
I owned a second one in the early 90s that became a resto project; full bodywork and a Group 1 engine on downdraft Webers. I sold it when I got divorced for.........£2000. Still gutted now.
I checked the insurance register last month and its still around.
Early 911s (younger that the RS2000 and based on a car from the 1960s) are still amazing to drive and quick on tighter bumpy roads. See this video of a 991 GT3 having to work quite hard to keep up with one (yes if there had been some long straights and the GT3 driver wanted to disregard speed limits he could have got away but such roads are much less interesting than ones where you struggle to reach the speed limits because of the number of bends).
https://youtu.be/F0sZUXKRxsE?list=UUbFNwIlodfAExSO...
A hot rod 911 is more than an RS2000 but less than double what you would pay for a mint RS2000. I am not dissing the RS2000. I would love to have one, even if it is dynamically limited in comparison.
At the same time as Ford were selling these, Porsche were selling the 924, which I think retailed for about twice what the Escort did, it was more powerful (125 bhp) and more capable as it had independent rear suspension, plus it was several times better quality, a nice 924 is about three grand now but it seems not to matter as everybody wants the Escort, the Porsche has very little image in comparison.
I was born in 1971 yet have never yearned for anything with the Blue Oval on the front. The only one I've owned was our 1.7 Puma.
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