Corgi VA14907 Ford Escort Mk2 RS2000, Signal Green

The Mk2 Escort RS2000 was introduced in January 1976, a year after the main Mk2 range had been launched. Over 23,000 were produced before production ceased at Saarlouis, Germany in 1980.

This was a large enough quantity for it to be profitable in its own right, but it also sprinkled some motorsport stardust on the humbler Escorts with which it shared showroom space by successfully competing in Group1 motorsport events for mildly modified cars. Ari Vatanen and Peter Bryant’s win on the 1976 Texaco Tour of Britain is one high-profile example.

The Mk2 RS2000 modelled was first sold by Ford RS dealers Hendy Lennox, Southampton, and first registered on September 20th, 1976. The current owner, Kent-based enthusiast Mickey Stewart, purchased it from fellow enthusiast Alan Sherwood in June 2014. It was complete but had been dismantled into a rolling shell for a restoration that had then stalled.

Mickey worked with Escort specialists Neil Bonds and Kelly Baverstock at Panelcraft Concours Restoration, Kent, who stripped the car, renewed almost all the panels and completed a Concours quality restoration before respraying it in the original colour.

The engine was rebuilt to Ford’s Group 1 specification, including twin Weber 44 IDF carburettors, although most of the rest of the vehicle was built to standard specification. The resulting car received great acclaim in the fast Ford world and took the prestigious RSOC Concours Gold Cup in 2017.