Ford Escort MkI 4x4 Turbo

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Launched in 1968 to replace the Anglia, the Escort soon became Britain’s best-selling car, with over 2 million sold by the time it was replaced by the MkII version in January 1975.

With a distinctive ‘dogbone’ front grille and swept ‘Coke bottle’ flanks, the Escort MkI perfectly captured the clean ‘60s look and was widely admired. Blessed with excellent handling characteristics, the Escort went on to become one of the most successful rally cars of all time, remaining popular to this day on the historic motorsport scene.

Naturally it has also attracted the attention of tuners, which is where this car comes in. Starting out in life as a regular 1970 two-door MkI, it was completely rebuilt about five years ago into the beast you see today. It has been fitted with the running gear and engine from a Nissan Pulsar GTI-R Turbo four-wheel drive.

Obviously this conversion makes for a very quick and capable car, but it is believed that the engine is in a standard state of tune (c.220bhp) which leaves plenty of scope for further performance upgrades if desired. Inside the car is fitted with two bucket seats, 4-point safety harnesses and a full roll cage.

Although there are no invoices to document the build, we are told that it cost over £20,000 and it is clear that the work has been carried out to a very good standard. It has recently been fitted with new 16" Rota RB alloys and new tyres which set the car off nicely. There are many more thoughtful details and the car needs to be seen to be fully appreciated. The vendor states that: “It sounds and drives great and attracts more positive attention than just about any other car you can imagine – people love this car!”.

Recorded as a 1970 Escort on the V5C and qualifying as a tax- and MOT-exempt Historic Vehicle, it has covered only 300 miles from build and has an MOT until 18th June 2019 with no advisories recorded. Resto-mods are a fast-growing part of the classic car scene and this yellow peril is sure to draw loads of attention out on the show circuit – or the race circuit! Get involved…