1971 Ford Escort MKI

At the end of 1967, the UK was introduced to the Ford Escort MK I, and it served as a replacement for the long production run of the Anglia. The success that the Ford Motor Company enjoyed with the Lotus Cortina inspired the fitting of many similar mechanical components in the Escort to create the Escort Twin Cam. Although it was in production for a short period of time, from 1968 and 1971, the car captured many victories in a number of international rallies and races.

The Australian-manufactured version of the Escort Twin Cam had the same engine and bodyshell as the U.K. car but was assembled at the Ford plant in Sydney. Perhaps the most significant differences between the U.K. and the Australian-built cars were the range of colours in the Ford palette, as compared to only being able to order Ermine White in the home market. Near the end of production, two colour options were offered to special order, Sunset Red and Maize Yellow. Currently, only three Sunset Red Twin Cams are known to exist.

A total of 883 Escort Twin Cams were built prior to production coming to an end and the start of the RS1600 model.

The Lotus-designed 'hemi' engine displaced 1560cc and produced 115 horsepower. It had twin overhead camshafts, twin Weber 40 DCOE Weber carburetors, and a 9.5:1 compression ratio. The Escort Twin cam was developed by Ford Competitions Department at Boreham, England and it is believed that all that left that factory were right-hand drive. Ford of Germany built a back of 50 left-hand-drive examples.

by Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2019