The door to a dusty warehouse swings open. A sombre piano plays in the background and a silhouetted figure walks in. ‘I’m going to make you great again,’ says a croaky American voice-over that’s cheesier than a box-set of Friends. He wipes a thick layer of crud off the back of the unloved car in front of him to reveal the letter and number combo: ‘RS2000’. Cue the Rocky soundtrack. By now you’re thinking this ad for the new RS2000 must be a joke, but you’re not entirely sure.
RS man, who loves them so much he leaves an original seventies’ slant-nose in a lock-up for twenty years without touching it, now gets to work bringing the badge back. But the read-out in the development centre says 130bhp and the screwed-up look on his face says that this won’t do. A quick tweak and its up to 150bhp – much better. The rest of this 1991 commercial goes pretty much as you’d imagine, the car hits the high-speed bowl, takes on the slalom and finally drives up the Rocky steps at the end, with a punch in the air somewhere in between (in fact you can see it here if you really want to).
Ford made a big fuss of the MK5 and MK6 RS2000 and since the latest Focus RS has just broken cover we decided to hunt one out for this week’s Shed. The MK5, which was later revised slightly for the MK6, had a 2-litre in-line four cylinder 16-valve unit with twin overhead camshafts.
One of the reasons it was so important to Ford was because the MK5 Escort had been absolutely awful. It still sold well of course but the company’s reputation had taken a hit. Thus an affordable hot version with a legendary badge was a good way of reminding people they did sort of know what they were doing after all. The car actually had 145bhp (the ad was in fact in PS which strikes me as odd as it was clearly supposed to be in America) but weighed in at 1165kg.
This meant performance was respectable – 0-60mph in 8.3 seconds and 133mph top speed – and it proved to be a good car. Journalists liked the handling, although the ride was a little harsh, and above all it was a laugh to drive. The MK5 became the MK6 and sadly the bonnet bulges disappeared and somehow the styling wasn’t quite as successful.
It was still a good drive, as was the rare 4WD version. Inside the RS2000 there may have been a bizarre vomit-inspired colour scheme but you did get a decent set of Recaros to hold you in. Most RS2000s have been thrashed or crashed by now but like old XR3is and XR2s their time will surely come and they will become a classic in their own right. That’s why you need to snap one up now and look after it.
OK, so you can tell David Bailey’s not selling this car but thankfully it looks unmolested and in pretty good condition. There’s a bit of wear to the seat bolster but the interior is clean and there’s just 80,000 miles on the clock. It comes with 12 months MOT, history and a load of extras.
Autotrader ad reads: '80,000 miles, 3 door hatchback, petrol, manual,12 months mot, central locking,un marked r s alloy wheels x5, electric windows, mirrors,sunroof,spotless recaro interior,spotless bodywork,air con,power steering,service history and receipts,rs body kit, cheap performance car. £925.'