1973 Ford Escort 'RS1600 Tribute' 2Dr Sedan

Description

Ford’s RS badge has always stood for the ultimate in performance and the car that started it all was the Escort RS1600 of 1970.  A collaboration between Ford Advanced Vehicle Operations (AVO) and the Rallye Sport dealer network, the RS1600 was based on the already successful Twin Cam, a proven winner in the world of rallying and touring car racing.  Mechanically very similar, the RS1600’s heart was a Cosworth designed unit based on the Kent pushrod engine, with unique head featuring four-valves per cylinder and belt-driven camshafts.  Codenamed the BDA (for Belt-Driven A-series), the motor was rated at an impressive 120bhp from its 1.6-litres but of course that was just the beginning, as tuners quickly discovered just how much power could potentially be unleashed.  In a car weighing just 879 kgs, the RS1600 possessed an excellent power-to-weight ratio.  The earliest RS1600s were built at Halewood but production switched to the new AVO facility at Aveley from November 1970 until the last car rolled off the line in 1974.  From April 1972 onwards the Weber 40DCOE carburettors were replaced with Dellortos and the original cast iron engine block switched to aluminium later that year for approximately the last 200 of the 1,139 made in total.  Most early cars were painted Diamond White but Sebring Red, Sunset Red, Maize Yellow, Daytona Yellow and Monza/Electric Blue were also listed as colour options.  Special RS badges and a lack of stripes identify the model externally, while interior changes include the special RS steering wheel.  Ford successfully campaigned the RS1600 in various forms of motorsport and works cars won the East African Safari, Finnish 1000 Lakes and RAC rallies.  Meanwhile German tuner Zakspeed developed the RS1600 into a formidable circuit racer, winning the European Touring Car Championship outright in 1974.  The high list price and relatively minor performance gains over the Twin Cam meant relatively few were used purely as road cars, the majority ending up as heavily modified competition cars.  With interest in performance Fords at an all-time high, the RS1600 remains the most iconic and collectible Escort of all, with examples routinely fetching six-figure sums around the world.