There was a time when Mk I Ford Escorts were everywhere, absolutely everywhere, rather like the Yaris is today, the only differences being that the Ford had some character, and was usually moving slightly faster than a tectonic plate. It was another of those cars one simply took for granted, for even though you could almost hear them rusting, there were just so many it seemed unthinkable that their numbers would dwindle. But dwindle they have, and the value of those not ravaged by the rust worm or hammered by boy racers has risen quite substantially of late.
The first UK Escorts were delivered at the tail-end of 1967, the car making its international debut at the Brussels Motor Show in 1968. Though better appointed competition from the likes of the Opel Kadett and Renault 12 would limit sales in mainland Europe, it took only six years for UK production to hit the two million mark, an unprecedented number, but as with the Citroen DS in France, there was an Escort for every occasion. By 1969, in addition to the standard 2-door saloon, you could purchase a four-door, an estate, a panel van, or if your usage was less utilitarian, there were the more luxurious ‘De Luxe’ and ‘Super’ models, or a variety of performance-enhanced versions….
Indeed the Escort might quickly have become the everyman’s runabout, but thanks to the efforts of Ford’s competition department it never became mundane, instead being developed into perhaps the finest rally car of the era. Arguably its finest hour came in 1970, on the gruelling 16,000 mile London to Mexico World Cup Rally, when the largely standard 1850GT driven by Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm led home the 23 finishers (of 97 starters) to claim a prestigious victory over the Leyland team. In fact the Ford dominance was such that five Escorts finished in the top ten, with footballer Jimmy Greaves (co-driving with Tony Fall) finishing an impressive sixth on his rally debut. Unsurprisingly Ford saw fit to commemorate their win, and to this end created what has become the most famous and sought-after Mk I model, the ‘Mexico’ special edition.
Given the need for reliability above all else in the London to Mexico event, Ford eschewed their Twin Cam and BDA engines in favour of the bulletproof Kent Crossflow unit found in the production models, but bored out to 1,834 cc, and mated to a five-speed ZF ‘box. Rapidly developed by Ford’s newly formed Advanced Vehicles Operations (AVO) department, the Mexico retained the 1.6 crossflow engine, but was otherwise largely the same as the Group 2 homologated Twin Cam (which used the 1,558 cc Lotus Cortina unit) and the BDA-engined RS1600. Production lasted until the AVO factory closed in 1975, the success of the model easily judged by the number of entrants in the Escort Mexico Challenge, a one-make championship (similar to France’s Coupe Gordini) contested by the likes of future F1 champion Jody Scheckter, BSCC champion Andy Rouse, and legendary all-rounder Gerry Marshall.
The Mk II appeared in ’75 and the Escort name would live on until 2002, having remained synonymous with safe, fun and reliable motoring for 35 years. Ultimately it’s exactly what you’d expect from a Ford, and there should probably be a photo of one as the definition of ‘practical classic’.
