Estimated Price: £140,000 - £160,000

Regarded as perhaps the ultimate rear-wheel drive Ford Escort, the Mk2-based RS1800 arrived in 1975 and was one of the rarest, most legendary high-performance models developed by Ford Europe. It remains one of Ford’s most successful motorsport cars and, like any marque’s official race/rally machines, there had to be a road-going version to enable the cars to obtain homologation for competition, so the RS1800 is a true 'homologation special' produced specifically so the Escort Mk2 could enter international motorsport.

An evolution of the similarly powered Mk1-based RS1600, motivation was provided by the formidable Cosworth-tuned, naturally-aspirated, 1,835cc four-cylinder 16-valve BDA engine, capable of delivering 115bhp. In many ways the RS1800 can be considered as a BDA-powered Mk2 Mexico, sharing the same heavy-duty bodyshell, brakes, suspension, split-propshaft, differential and rear axle. Indeed, the great majority of RS1800 examples actually started life as Mk2 Escort RS Mexicos, built at Ford’s Saarlouis plant in Germany. The complete cars were transported to the Aveley Plant where a team of engineers set about converting them to RS1800-specification - replacing Pinto OHC engines with BDA units, whilst adding an oil cooler, modifying the centre exhaust hanger and carrying out specific paintwork around the cars.

Offered here is an original ex-Boreham works Escort RS1800 that carried the iconic Rothmans livery in the early eighties. Registered on December 10th 1975 and built at Boreham, it was to spearhead Ford's wish to follow on in rallying where the all-conquering Escort MKI had finished.

Driven by Timo Makinen with Henry Liddon, it finished second in the 1976 Rallye Internacional Firestone the 9th. round of the European Rally Championship (ERC) held in Spain from 19 March to 21 March 1976 and headquartered around Bilbao. This was a low-key entry and the predominantly white Ford Motorsport livery even carried the road car's blue side decals together with Shell sponsorship. Further success followed soon as Makinen/Liddon won the Total Rally South Africa in July finishing 6.40 minutes ahead of works teammate, Roger Clark.

In November, on the Lombard RAC Rally, the Group 4 Escort RS1800- MTW 200P- factory entry was driven by Waldegard/Thorzelius and finished 3rd only half a second behind the second place SAAB of Stig Blomqvist and Hans Slyvan. In late 1977, the Escort was entered for the very fast and emerging Ari Vatanen and Peter Bryant but unfortunately a loose wheel resulted in a DNF. The RS1800 was driven to a third place by J.Pierre Nicolas /V. Laverne on the Rallye Portugal in 1978 before being sold to David Sutton (Cars) Ltd. in May 1979. After Ford withdrew from rallying in September 1979, the mantle of running RS1800s in World Championship events fell to David Sutton with Rothmans backing. In November 1979, the Escort was entered for Mikkola/Hertz on the Rallye du Condroz in the famous Belga/Bastos livery but was sidelined with a steering issue. MTW then returned to wearing Rothmans livery becoming a recce and test car/spare for Hannu Mikkola.

It was later sold to leading national rally driver, Graham Lepley, who subsequently sold it to Dr. Helmet Stein in December 1995 who continued to enter domestic German rallies until 2000 and completed nearly thirty years of ownership until its return to the UK in 2024.

MTW 200P still remains virtually as per its Group 4 WRC specification including its Terry Hoyle BDG engine. Terry Hoyle of Maldon Essex built more works engines for Ford Competetion than anyone else in period and went on, with David Sutton, to build the works Audi engines for the Quattros that eventually dominated the WRC from 1982 onwards. The engine still wears a TH0076 cam cover ID tag and the car looks remarkably authentic with a Gartrac tank, original chassis plate on the slam panel and unique number tag on the OF inner wing.

Without doubt a piece of rally folklore, wearing a livery that defined the early eighties WRC, and driven by a Who's Who of Flying Finns.