While the point is certainly up for debate, anyone who was at
Wales Rally GB
last weekend could surely still make a case for it being properly thrilling motorsport. Perhaps it isn't what it used to be - name a motorsport that is - but the faces at Sweetlamb were damp, not disappointed.
The speed of a WRC car across the stage is incredible, something that will only increase with next year's rule changes. But there's variety too, meaning that throughout the day you'll see rally cars as diverse as Nissan Micras, Land Rover Freelanders and Datsun 240Zs.
Plus you'll see a swathe of rear-wheel drive Escorts being driven exactly how they were intended. And as someone who once imagined running an old Escort on classic insurance at 18 (remember when they were that cheap?), loved reading about
Jesse Crosse's rallying
and who can often be found listening to BDAs on YouTube, that was quite enjoyable. And meant only one thing was going to happen once we were back in the world of Wi-Fi.
Predictably the ex-works cars are well into six figures now, so we're looking at converted cars. Clearly though, there are Escort rally projects and there are Escort rally projects. This would appear to be one of the latter, what with the £120K and 1,000 hours it took to build...
The pictures indicate just how immaculate (and fresh) this build is - check out the gold in the engine bay - but it's the details of the technical spec that make it so exciting. It has been built by Major Motorsport; its website proudly boasts that Team Principal Simon Mauger "has never been beaten by another Mk2 Escort to date". Like Jesse's white Escort, this uses a Millington Diamond 2.5-litre engine too. Remember that was making 313hp in Jesse's car...
The sequential gearbox is by Tractive, the brakes are by Brembo and, as the advert states, "the list goes on." It would seem to very expensively and carefully built, put it that way - "there was no budget" is always good to read. In blue with those Minilites and some carbon accessories, it's also a great looking Escort. And now you can buy it!
Surely there can't be many better?
According to the ad this car was built to be the ultimate track day Escort, which has resulted in it being built to tarmac rally spec. Sounds like a bonus really, as you can get familiar with the car in the (relatively) safe confines of a circuit before taking to the stage if you want to. If not, it would probably remain brilliant fun on track days and sprints.
Alright, so it's £80,000. But people spend more money than that on track day cars, don't they? And it would cost you even more than this car's build estimate to make another one now, given it was completed in 2014. Plus the opportunity to buy Escorts in this condition surely won't come up too often. Go on...
However, if your Ford rally car budget is more modest, there is an old Fiesta ST built by M-Sport for a tenth of the price. And a completely bonkers rally buggy for even less. Goodness knows where you'd use it, but it must be hilarious!
FORD ESCORT MK2 RALLY CAR
Price: £79,500
Why you should: Iconic rally car, beauitfully built, ready to go
Why you shouldn't: The fear of crashing it...
See the original advert here.