Corgi 1/43 Ford Escort Mk1 RS2000

Most Escort Mk1 RS2000s were produced at Ford’s Advanced Vehicle Operations plant in the UK but some were built at Saarlouis, Germany, for the European market. The example modelled is one such car and was ordered from Ford dealers Hans Kohlhoff, Mannheim, Ludwigshafen, Germany by Hans-Werner Winkler in early 1974. He specified various Group 1 motor sport tuning additions, including a rear-mounted roll cage, and used the car for road rallies. During an event in the early eighties the gearbox failed and locked solid so the propshaft was removed to allow the car to roll freely and it was towed to a local farmer’s barn where, amazingly, it would remain until 2015.

The original owner offered it for sale in July 2015 and, on seeing this remarkably original and corrosion free car advertised on the internet, Nottinghamshire-based Ford Escort specialists Montescort snapped it up and collected it from Germany within days. Midlands-based Escort enthusiast Phil Dunbar bought the car and commissioned Montescort to carry out a detailed restoration. Although the car was fitted with new front wings and resprayed in its original colour scheme, the strip-down and subsequent rebuild confirmed how well it had survived in storage. This immaculate, finished car was exhibited at the NEC classic car show in November 2019 and shortly afterwards Phil part exchanged it for an older fast Ford with William Gibson of Ford specialist EFD Restos.