1972 Ford Escort MKI Coupe

This Escort RS1600 MK-1 was built in 1971-1972 in England by ex-Broadspeed mechanic Carl 'Tivy' Shenton while he was managing Spec Fab at Pershors in Worcestershire, England, and includes an Atlas, six-link rear axle, a ZF five-speed, four-wheel disc brakes and Broadspeed fender flares.

The GOMM #chassis plate denotes one of the first group of #49 Escort shells produced by Ford of England and given to GOMM to prepare for known Ford Factory racing teams like Broadspeed, Alan Mann Racing, Super Speed, etc. This car was maintained by a 'young Englishman mechanic' at John Buffum's and went on to win the under two liter IMSA race at Lime Rock in 1974 with Paul Newman and Tom Ciccone driving. Newman and Ciccone raced the car in 1973, 1974, and 1975 in IMSA events (including Daytona) until Newman moved to California. It was here that Karl Fisk of Chaffee College reported that Newman used the car for practice sessions at Riverside until it 'got dark' or 'the motor blew.'

Paul Newman donated the car to Chaffee College in late 1978 or 1979 where they raced it for several more years. There is no further history of the car until purchased by the current owner in 1991 in a destroyed state. The car was restored to the Newman racing days in 1992.