ROAD ROCKET
Road Rocket
Jaw dropping & gorgeous in every aspect.
This RS2000 amazes perfection seeking connoisseurs, like Chris. Chris has been a Ford junkie ever since purchasing his first car, which was a 1973 Ford Escort Sedan. Since then, he’s added a 1978 Ford Escort Mexico replica and a 1978 Ford Escort Ghia to his collection. You could say Chris has a thing for Ford’s…
PROJECT RS2000
12 years ago, while keen to start up a new project, Chris stumbled upon a shell of a 1980 Ford Escort Mk2 RS2000 at a local car wrecking yard while a mate was looking for some parts. Being the Ford fanatic he is, the RS2000 seemed like a no-brainer to work on.
From what Chris knows, the car had been through quite a few owners, all who modified the RS2000 at some point. The last known owner tried to sell the car but was unable to get his asking price, so he split it up and sold in as parts, dumping the shell at the wreckers.
Since purchasing, the RS2000 has undergone a full body restoration. Chris has added a new motor, suspension, interior, wheels and tyres. He’s ramped up the engine with a PL30 Kent Cam, oversized valves, a Ford Motorsport inlet manifold, Alloy adjustable cam pulley, alloy accessory pulley and a .040 rebore. The RS2000 features a four-speed manual transmission.
Other mechanical attributes like the pinto engine and rear leaf spring suspension can be a bit old-fashioned even when the cars were new, but they are efficient, lightweight and fun to drive!
Jaw dropping and gorgeous in every respect, this RS2000 finished in Monza Blue, amazes perfection seeking connoisseurs, like Chris. From the front wings to the black coachline below the swage line trimmed slightly short of all the panel gaps, this car is definitely a unique one.
RALLY HERITAGE
The RS2000’s were designed by Ford’s Cologne styling department in Germany, which was home to the company’s high-performance European operation. However, it took Ford Australia quite some time to decide when the time would be right to introduce this car to the Aussie’s, despite not being a stranger to the enthusiasts.
Through its successes in motor racing, especially in events like the Hardie Ferodo 1000 and to an even greater extent in rallying, the RS2000 is a well-known and highly respected car.
The Australian version was not the pure-bred German RS2000. Instead, Aussie buyers had to make do with a compromise car.
The styling was the same, but because the RS2000 was made in Australia, Ford chose to use the standard 2.0-litre OHC Cortina engine. Although it was a nice suburban engine, quiet and moderately powerful, it was not anything like the more highly tuned European RS2000 engine. Despite this disadvantage, the Aussie RS2000 still proved itself to be an exceptional little car for drivers who wanted extra excitement to brighten mundane driving.
The RS2000 has become something of a legend in Ford circles and with its rally heritage, it was the Seventies equivalent of Subaru’s WRX and Mitsubishi’s Evo. Announced in ’79, the Australian RS2000 differed from its English counterpart in a number of ways and was available in both two and four-door guises, with a two-litre engine and short-shift four-speed gearbox.
Although Aussie production figures for the RS2000 aren’t well documented, there were approximately 2,400 produced and relatively few of these survive. With interest in the RS Escorts coming up all the time, it won’t be long before values on the Aussie RS 2000s begin to climb rapidly.
If you’re looking into something similar to Chris’ RS2000, now is definitely the time to start looking hard for good, low mileage examples.