Ford Escort

Ford Escort at a glance

Escort generations

Mk I: the rear-drive original (1968–1975)

Ford built the first Escorts in Britain at the end of 1967, and the car made its show debut at the Brussels Motor Show in January 1968. It replaced the Anglia, which had been in production in various forms since 1939, and brought rack-and-pinion steering to Ford's smallest car. The engines were Kent crossflow fours: the 1.1 had 34 kW (46 PS) and the 1.3 GT 47 kW (64 PS). Ford's advertising called it "the small car that isn't".

Production started at Halewood and Dagenham and spread to Genk in September 1968 and Saarlouis in 1970. A four-door saloon joined the two-door in 1969, and an estate and a panel van were also offered. By June 1974 Ford had built two million Escorts.

The sporting versions came from AVO, Ford's Advanced Vehicle Operations plant at Aveley in Essex:

• Twin Cam: 1.6 with 78 kW (106 PS);
• RS1600: 1.6 Cosworth BDA with 86 kW (117 PS);
• Mexico: 1.6 with 63 kW (86 PS), 10,352 built;
• RS2000: 2.0 Pinto with 75 kW (101 PS).

The Mexico celebrated the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally, which Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm won in an Escort.

Mk II and the rally years (1975–1980)

The squarer Mk II entered production on 2 December 1974 and kept the rear-drive layout, engines and body choices of its predecessor, with better seats, ride and ventilation. The RS1800 used a 1.8 Cosworth BDE engine of 86 kW (117 PS). The RS2000 had Ford's claimed 82 kW (110 bhp) and, according to Lancaster Insurance, a top speed of 177 km/h; the RS Mexico used a 1.6 Pinto.

The Mk II built most of the Escort's rally record. Escorts won the RAC Rally every year from 1975 to 1979. In 1979 Björn Waldegård took the world drivers' title, with Mikkola second, and Ford won the manufacturers' championship. Ari Vatanen then won the 1981 drivers' title in an RS1800. British production of the Mk II ended in August 1980.

Front-wheel drive: Mk III and Mk IV (1980–1990)

The Mk III, codenamed "Erika", arrived in September 1980 with front-wheel drive, a hatchback and new CVH engines, the layout the Volkswagen Golf had used since 1974. Jurors voted it European Car of the Year 1981. By 1982 it had overtaken the Cortina as Britain's best-selling car, a place the Escort held for eight years. In December 1989 the Mk III was the most common car on British roads, with almost 1.5 million registered.

The range widened quickly: a van in February 1981, a Karmann-built convertible, the Orion saloon in 1983 and a 40 kW (55 PS) diesel. The XR3i and RS 1600i, with 85 kW (115 PS), followed in 1983, and the RS Turbo with 97 kW (132 PS) in 1985.

The Mk IV of March 1986 was a facelift of the same car. It added 1.1 and 1.3 Valencia engines, a 1.4 CVH and a 1.8 diesel. European production ended in 1990, and Brazil kept building it until 1996.

Mk V and Mk VI (1990–2002)

The Mk V (project CE14) was launched in September 1990 with a torsion-beam rear suspension, and the motoring press received it coolly. Even so, it was first or second in the British sales charts from 1990 to 1992. Ford improved it step by step. The Zetec 16-valve engines arrived in 1992 with 66 kW (90 PS) from 1.6 litres and 96 kW (130 PS) from 1.8 litres. The Orion name was dropped in September 1993, and airbags followed in 1994. The RS2000 had a 2.0 engine with 110 kW (150 PS).

The Mk VI of January 1995 was a revision with new headlamps, bonnet and front wings, first built at Halewood. The Focus arrived in 1998, but European production of the Escort continued until October 2002, the van giving way to the Transit Connect. Argentina built it until 2004, and Ford also assembled it in Belarus, India, Poland, South Africa and Turkey.

The North American Escort (1981–2003)

Ford developed the first American Escort together with Ford of Europe as a "world car". It shared the 94.2-inch wheelbase, the CVH engine and the ATX automatic with the European Mk III, but no body panels. Built in Edison (New Jersey), San Jose (California), Wayne (Michigan) and Oakville (Ontario), it was America's best-selling car of 1982; the 1986 model year reached 430,053 cars. The range included a GT, the two-seat EXP coupe (1982–1988), a 1.6 turbo with 89 kW (120 hp) and a 2.0 Mazda diesel, which accounted for less than 1.2% of sales.

The second generation (1991–1996) dropped the European link and moved to the Mazda 323/Protegé platform, built in Wayne and in Hermosillo, Mexico. The GT used a 1.8 Mazda twin-cam with 95 kW (127 hp). This generation totalled 1,731,460 cars.

The third generation (1997–2003) kept that chassis. The ZX2 coupe of 1998, the first two-door Escort, had a 2.0 Zetec with 97 kW (130 hp); the 2,110 S/R cars had 107 kW (143 hp). The last sedan was built in June 2002 and the last ZX2 in June 2003, when the Focus took over completely.

Performance versions

The RS Cosworth, with its large rear wing, reached a top speed of about 225 km/h according to Lancaster. Readers who prefer horsepower can switch units with our power converter.

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