Ford Escort Mexico

The Escort Mexico was Ford's road-going celebration of its win in the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally. It was built by the Advanced Vehicle Operations team alongside the RS1600, with a strengthened bodyshell and a 1598cc Crossflow engine. This 1973 car is finished in Daytona Yellow over a black interior.

It has had a two-year, bare-metal restoration within the last seven years. That work included new floors, sills, A-posts, chassis rails and front panels, plus new glass seals, lamps, bumpers and badges. The suspension uses Capri 2.8i legs and rear leaf springs, with Gaz dampers, new brakes all round and a Quaife limited-slip differential. The original seats were retrimmed.

The engine has been enlarged to 1700cc and built by WPE in South London. It has BDA high-compression pistons, Lotus conrods, a 254 cam, Weber 45 carburettors and a stainless exhaust. The page quotes 160 bhp at the time of testing. It also has a recent clutch and slave cylinder and runs on 7x13 Lotus steel wheels. The car has appeared on For The Love Of Cars and in Classic Ford magazine. The page shows 35,000 miles, and the car is now sold.