RE: Dream-grade Ford Escort RS1600i for sale
Discussion
Mr Peel said:
When these came out I was too young to know about homologation specials. But they were still self-evidently cooler than XR3is. And I'd prefer this over a Turbo now.
Indeed. Neither the RS Turbo or the RS1600i are very quick by modern standards, so may as well go for the RS1600i. Rarer and way cooler. Cryssys said:
I've had 2 XR3i's and a mk1 RS turbo in my time and I just can't see why people are prepared to pay such silly money for them. They weren't particularly qucik nor did they handle that well even by the standards of the day.
3rd gear in the RS was a peach though as the turbo kicked in it really did pick up well
Having said that I wish I still had them given what they'd make.
Its down to nostalgia in the main and them being cultural icons, regardless of the engineering aspects. Can then cruise round pretending to be 20 again, go to shows and discuss those times with like minded individuals.3rd gear in the RS was a peach though as the turbo kicked in it really did pick up well
Having said that I wish I still had them given what they'd make.
Its what was available to young working people in the eighties and nineties so those who had one want to relive their youth, or have one because they didn't manage to get one in period.
I drove lots of XR2's, XR3's, Golf GTi's, Pug 205's and the like at the time and enjoyed them but I dont want one now, I find really old cars typically to be expensive and hard work, then you cant use them daily, you need a garage to keep them in. Tend to find that they feel a bit, well old and disappointing, 100 to 120 bhp feels a bit anaemic in most cases and I think the novelty would wear off pretty quickly.
I think this is waiting for one of those Fast Ford collectors who have a barn full of largely unused very shiny examples (often in various colours) great but even if I could I dont think I would.
For me, just pick one of the better old school style (not the 1.6 ton 4wd 400 bhp types) hot hatches from the last 15/20 years, Hyundai I30N, Fiesta ST, various Type R Hondas, Fast Clios, Fast Meganes, Various Golfs, Leons etc etc and do a few choice mods to address any failings, get on top of it and enjoy that.
J4CKO said:
Cryssys said:
I've had 2 XR3i's and a mk1 RS turbo in my time and I just can't see why people are prepared to pay such silly money for them. They weren't particularly qucik nor did they handle that well even by the standards of the day.
3rd gear in the RS was a peach though as the turbo kicked in it really did pick up well
Having said that I wish I still had them given what they'd make.
Its down to nostalgia in the main and them being cultural icons, regardless of the engineering aspects. Can then cruise round pretending to be 20 again, go to shows and discuss those times with like minded individuals.3rd gear in the RS was a peach though as the turbo kicked in it really did pick up well
Having said that I wish I still had them given what they'd make.
Its what was available to young working people in the eighties and nineties so those who had one want to relive their youth, or have one because they didn't manage to get one in period.
I drove lots of XR2's, XR3's, Golf GTi's, Pug 205's and the like at the time and enjoyed them but I dont want one now, I find really old cars typically to be expensive and hard work, then you cant use them daily, you need a garage to keep them in. Tend to find that they feel a bit, well old and disappointing, 100 to 120 bhp feels a bit anaemic in most cases and I think the novelty would wear off pretty quickly.
I think this is waiting for one of those Fast Ford collectors who have a barn full of largely unused very shiny examples (often in various colours) great but even if I could I dont think I would.
For me, just pick one of the better old school style (not the 1.6 ton 4wd 400 bhp types) hot hatches from the last 15/20 years, Hyundai I30N, Fiesta ST, various Type R Hondas, Fast Clios, Fast Meganes, Various Golfs, Leons etc etc and do a few choice mods to address any failings, get on top of it and enjoy that.
My uncle had a White RS1600i back in the early 90's. It had Bilstein suspension on it which he said was standard fitment (not sure if that's true or not). I remember it handled unbelievably better than most of it's rivals at that time. I always liked the look of the RS1600i better than the RS Turbos as I always thought the RS1600i looked more "motorsporty" and less flash. You'd have to be brave to pay £45k though.
MikeMi-4 said:
My uncle had a White RS1600i back in the early 90's. It had Bilstein suspension on it which he said was standard fitment (not sure if that's true or not). I remember it handled unbelievably better than most of it's rivals at that time. I always liked the look of the RS1600i better than the RS Turbos as I always thought the RS1600i looked more "motorsporty" and less flash. You'd have to be brave to pay £45k though.
Bilsteins, yes I’m pretty sure they did come on them, verses the XR3i on cheapo Sachs or Boge units. And yes, I had forgotten that the 1600i was the best handling Ford of its era, far better than any of its hot hatch contemporaries
chirurgus said:
amongst the 99 photographs, there's an awful lot of pictures of the steering wheel but not one of the engine! The nostalgia value is high and I can understand why someone might buy this, but I suspect the reality of driving it would be slightly disappointing.
I wonder if its because the twin ‘Hall-effect’ system with two large red coils has been replaced. This proved problematic even in period and was often removed and put back to distributor (from the XR3) as the parts were non existent to repair then. These drop considerably in price if thats not working or has been replaced.
Beautiful car BTW but then i must be an old chav (yes i do have a 2.8i capri too)
Chicken Chaser said:
I do like this, but I'm also baffled at its value. I really can't understand the fast Ford bubble at all, likely because most of the people I saw running Cosworths and XR3iS back in the day were in council estates! How these have become aspirational purchases is crazy.
Really? You can’t understand it and think they were all bought by council estate dwellers. Princess Dianna had a black one, someone should have told her! What a blinkered, naive, and arrogant viewpoint.
M138 said:
I do wonder if it will be like ‘car pass the parcel’ with these old Ford’s where the prices suddenly nosedive. I’m might be totally wrong as the high prices have gone on for a lot longer than I woulda thought.
Same as any recent retro classics though caught up in a boom, I'd certainly be worried if I'd paid £45k for one of these or £200k+ on a cossie. Was chatting to a guy at motorist hub last summer who had a lovely xr2 he'd paid £25k for, he'll probably be ok for a good few years at that sort of price even if there's a crash. el romeral said:
Amazing prices on these and great memories. I bought a 1983 model back in 1985. I remember paying £6000 for it, from John Clarke, a big BMW dealership in Aberdeen. Was likely overpriced a bit but did have a special warranty. I recall that the price of the car was the same as my annual salary.
Coming from a 2.0S Capri, the RS was a real racer and great to drive. I kept it for 6 years. The 195/50x15 tyres seemed impossibly wide and low profile in the mid 80s and 15” diameter was simply massive!
Can’t believe my friend and I fitted a towbar on it so I could tow his boat whilst he towed a caravan with his XR3i.
I was told back then that either the body shell and or the chassis were different from the XR3i due to altering the suspension for the rallying. Also there were a red and orange light on the speedo, I think, these came on when you took your foot off the throttle. Cannot remember what they were for but the XR3i did not have them.
Nice post Coming from a 2.0S Capri, the RS was a real racer and great to drive. I kept it for 6 years. The 195/50x15 tyres seemed impossibly wide and low profile in the mid 80s and 15” diameter was simply massive!
Can’t believe my friend and I fitted a towbar on it so I could tow his boat whilst he towed a caravan with his XR3i.
I was told back then that either the body shell and or the chassis were different from the XR3i due to altering the suspension for the rallying. Also there were a red and orange light on the speedo, I think, these came on when you took your foot off the throttle. Cannot remember what they were for but the XR3i did not have them.
I never had one but a close friend did and the number plate is only a few digits after this one in the article
The Scheel seats were lovely on these - preferred them to the S1 RS Turbo ones that came later
Always easy to spot with the bonnet stripes and lack of rear wheel arch spats - we had some great times doing performance comparisons on the local disused airfield at Childs Ercall
Another friend got a white one ( Y plate ) that was supposed to be standard but seemed a lot faster for reasons unknown - number plate started with the same letters as Prince Andrew’s onetime girlfriend, Koo - so we nicknamed it the Princewagon
M138 said:
I do wonder if it will be like ‘car pass the parcel’ with these old Ford’s where the prices suddenly nosedive. I’m might be totally wrong as the high prices have gone on for a lot longer than I woulda thought.
We still see big prices for desirable 50s, 60s and 70s cars, so if prices nosedive when a cohort dies then we'll have a long time to wait for that to occur for 80s and 90s cars.On the RS1600i - I always thought this was a superbly styled and proportioned Escort.
cerb4.5lee said:
I was 20 and almost turning 21 when I had my first XR4x4 back in 1994, and I can't believe now that I actually thought a 150bhp was a decent amount back then really! We were easily pleased back then weren't we?(my current daily driver has 425bhp now for example).
I remember seeing 138mph on the clock in it on the M1, but I'd imagine that the reality was only around 125mph though. I still have very fond memories of it regardless in fairness.
I think it's more about how modern cars have spoiled us. The widespread use of forced induction has meant that it's become easier and easier for manufacturers to get power out of their engines, so we've seen big jumps in performance. Even relatively mundane stuff can feel quite pokey now, because you get a shove of talk from the turbo.I remember seeing 138mph on the clock in it on the M1, but I'd imagine that the reality was only around 125mph though. I still have very fond memories of it regardless in fairness.
It's good in some ways of course, but there is something to be said about the simplicity of older cars. I've been looking at getting a cheap little car to do some autocross events, but a lot of my friends can't understand why I think something with c.100-150bhp that weighs around 1,000kg is suitable. They keep pushing me towards turbocharged hot hatches, but that's rather missing the point to me.
s m said:
Nice post
I never had one but a close friend did and the number plate is only a few digits after this one in the article
The Scheel seats were lovely on these - preferred them to the S1 RS Turbo ones that came later
Always easy to spot with the bonnet stripes and lack of rear wheel arch spats - we had some great times doing performance comparisons on the local disused airfield at Childs Ercall
Another friend got a white one ( Y plate ) that was supposed to be standard but seemed a lot faster for reasons unknown - number plate started with the same letters as Prince Andrew’s onetime girlfriend, Koo - so we nicknamed it the Princewagon
That white one was an Essex registered car, can you recall it’s full registration ?I never had one but a close friend did and the number plate is only a few digits after this one in the article
The Scheel seats were lovely on these - preferred them to the S1 RS Turbo ones that came later
Always easy to spot with the bonnet stripes and lack of rear wheel arch spats - we had some great times doing performance comparisons on the local disused airfield at Childs Ercall
Another friend got a white one ( Y plate ) that was supposed to be standard but seemed a lot faster for reasons unknown - number plate started with the same letters as Prince Andrew’s onetime girlfriend, Koo - so we nicknamed it the Princewagon
SS427 Camaro said:
s m said:
Nice post
I never had one but a close friend did and the number plate is only a few digits after this one in the article
The Scheel seats were lovely on these - preferred them to the S1 RS Turbo ones that came later
Always easy to spot with the bonnet stripes and lack of rear wheel arch spats - we had some great times doing performance comparisons on the local disused airfield at Childs Ercall
Another friend got a white one ( Y plate ) that was supposed to be standard but seemed a lot faster for reasons unknown - number plate started with the same letters as Prince Andrew’s onetime girlfriend, Koo - so we nicknamed it the Princewagon
That white one was an Essex registered car, can you recall it’s full registration ?I never had one but a close friend did and the number plate is only a few digits after this one in the article
The Scheel seats were lovely on these - preferred them to the S1 RS Turbo ones that came later
Always easy to spot with the bonnet stripes and lack of rear wheel arch spats - we had some great times doing performance comparisons on the local disused airfield at Childs Ercall
Another friend got a white one ( Y plate ) that was supposed to be standard but seemed a lot faster for reasons unknown - number plate started with the same letters as Prince Andrew’s onetime girlfriend, Koo - so we nicknamed it the Princewagon
s m said:
SS427 Camaro said:
s m said:
Nice post
I never had one but a close friend did and the number plate is only a few digits after this one in the article
The Scheel seats were lovely on these - preferred them to the S1 RS Turbo ones that came later
Always easy to spot with the bonnet stripes and lack of rear wheel arch spats - we had some great times doing performance comparisons on the local disused airfield at Childs Ercall
Another friend got a white one ( Y plate ) that was supposed to be standard but seemed a lot faster for reasons unknown - number plate started with the same letters as Prince Andrew’s onetime girlfriend, Koo - so we nicknamed it the Princewagon
That white one was an Essex registered car, can you recall it’s full registration ?I never had one but a close friend did and the number plate is only a few digits after this one in the article
The Scheel seats were lovely on these - preferred them to the S1 RS Turbo ones that came later
Always easy to spot with the bonnet stripes and lack of rear wheel arch spats - we had some great times doing performance comparisons on the local disused airfield at Childs Ercall
Another friend got a white one ( Y plate ) that was supposed to be standard but seemed a lot faster for reasons unknown - number plate started with the same letters as Prince Andrew’s onetime girlfriend, Koo - so we nicknamed it the Princewagon
wolfie28 said:
That is very nice but I was way off with my guess the price game. If I had the money I’d buy it and add to my hypothetical dream garage. This will most likely end up in a collection and never see the light of day again.
It’s been a while since one sold in the 40k range - the silver one reached 36k at the Silverstone auctions about 6 months back. As ever there’s always cheaper ones around if you want one to drive around in
GreatScott2016 said:
Augustus Windsock said:
Ever the pedant, the RS1600i also had a 5-speed B5-gearbox with a different fifth gear ratio of 0.83, and also the distributor was replaced by a twin ‘Hall-effect’ system.
What always strikes me about these is the upholstery: now whether that’s because they have had more bottoms sliding in and out of the supposed low-mileage seats than advertised, or whether because the glue has become, er, un-glued over the years I know not but many have seat coverings that are baggier than Katie Prices foo-foo.
I must say, when these came out I had an XR3i and coveted the RS1600i so badly, but couldn’t stretch to one.
Instead I bought a Turbo Tecnics converted XR2 which left these behind (possibly even the RS Turbo as mine had an upgraded twin-stage option..?)
For driving experience now, have a look what Jack says on his YouTube channel ‘Number 47’, a good ‘Everyman’ view of how it feels today.
Good little vid that, unless there’s another one out there, the review I watched was “number 27” What always strikes me about these is the upholstery: now whether that’s because they have had more bottoms sliding in and out of the supposed low-mileage seats than advertised, or whether because the glue has become, er, un-glued over the years I know not but many have seat coverings that are baggier than Katie Prices foo-foo.
I must say, when these came out I had an XR3i and coveted the RS1600i so badly, but couldn’t stretch to one.
Instead I bought a Turbo Tecnics converted XR2 which left these behind (possibly even the RS Turbo as mine had an upgraded twin-stage option..?)
For driving experience now, have a look what Jack says on his YouTube channel ‘Number 47’, a good ‘Everyman’ view of how it feels today.
Forgot to add the seats were made by Scheel, and the two lights in the centre of the instrument panel, were, iirc, ‘economy lights’ but in effect only showed when you were coming off the throttle, so little different to a vacuum ‘economy gauge’.
Out of interest I believe they only work if the twin ‘Hall-effect’ set up is still in place.
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