Classic car collectors and well-heeled Fast Ford fans will next month have the ‘extraordinary’ opportunity to get their hands on two of the ‘world’s most exceptional’ 1970s Escorts RS cars from the seventies heyday.
With just 109 examples ever produced, the RS1800 is one of those unicorn performance models from half a century ago that is in huge demand among enthusiasts and commanding jaw-dropping prices.
Produced between March 1975 and September 1977, the Escort Mk2 RS1800 was designed as a road-going version of Ford’s hugely successful rally car.
Powered by a 1.8-litre 16-valve Cosworth engine, the RS1800 shared its heavy duty bodyshell, as well as many components, with the Escort Mexico but stood apart as a homologation special built to dominate the rally stages.
And the two being offered by Iconic Auctioneers at a Birmingham sale in November are said to ‘represent both the finest restored and the most original examples known to exist’.
As such, experts reckon a winning bid for each will need to be in the region of a quarter of a million pounds.
Fast Fords for big bucks: Ford between 1975 and 1977 produced just 109 road-going Escort RS1800s – a car that would go on to become a legend. Next month, two of the ‘finest restored and the most original examples known to exist’ will be offered to the highest bidder…
The first of the two cars is steeped in provenance.
Registration ‘KPR 111P’ is confirmed as the first production RS1800 from 1975, which alone makes it one of the most desirable example of these rare motors.
However, it is also widely regarded by the Fast Ford fraternity as the best restored example in existence.
Following a ten-year restoration project, the car is now in ‘concours’ condition, meaning it would be good enough to be presented in a classic vehicle museum as if it has never turned a wheel in its 50-year lifetime.
‘Every component has been returned to factory-correct condition, right down to its period Pirelli Cinturato tyres, Motorcraft battery, and functioning original radio,’ the auctioneer said.
Having claimed over 200 show awards, including Concours Car of the Show at the Ford RS Owners Club National Day 2022, it has even been immortalised as a 1:43 scale Corgi model.
The car is said to represent ‘not only a flawless restoration but a faithful resurrection of the first RS1800’.
Iconic Auctioneers believes it will go for a winning bid in the region of £200,000 to £250,000 when presented at the NEC Classic Motor Show 2025 on 8 November.
And it won’t be making the journey to the block alone with another RS1800 following closely in its tyre tracks…
Registration ‘KPR 111P’ is the first RS1800 to come off the car giant’s Advanced Vehicle Operations Pilot Plant at Aveley, Essex in 1975, which alone makes it one of the most desirable example of these rare motors
A ten-year restoration project has put it back to gleaming condition, good enough for it to be a museum display
‘Every component has been returned to factory-correct condition, right down to its period Pirelli Cinturato tyres, Motorcraft battery, and functioning original radio,’ Iconic Auctioneers said
This car has claimed over 200 show awards and has even been immortalised as a 1:43 scale Corgi model
The second RS1800 also going under the hammer at the same auction is registration ‘SCE 383S’ – a 1977 car that’s dubbed ‘a monument to originality’.
Believed to be the most genuine surviving RS1800 on the planet, it remains unrestored, retaining its factory-fitted shell and drivetrain.
And with just 34,811 miles, original paint, the factory interior, and even its PDI (pre-delivery inspection) stickers still intact, it exemplifies the mantra: they’re only original once.
From one of the UK’s most respected Ford collectors and admired by the late RS1800 Registrar, Dave Robinson, this car has been carefully preserved in dehumidified storage and lightly driven.
It offers collectors a rare glimpse of what a brand-new RS1800 looked, felt, and smelled like in 1977.
The second RS1800 going under the hammer at the same auction is this example: registration ‘SCE 383S’ from 1977 that has been dubbed ‘a monument to originality’
Believed to be the most genuine surviving RS1800 on the planet, it remains unrestored, retaining its factory-fitted shell and drivetrain
‘This is the reference point of authenticity for such a model,’ Iconic Auctioneers said.
While the auction house has refused to disclose the guide price, we expect it to be in the ballpark of the sister model two years its senior.
Earlier this summer, another of the 109 Mk2 RS1800s – this a 1976 model – sold for a world record £278,848.
This was another example of rare provenance having been retained by the same family for almost half a century.
The lot winner – having been embroiled in a ‘frenzied’ bidding war in July – paid an eye-watering £278,848 to secure the keys.
Rob Hubbard, managing director and principal auctioneer at Iconic Auctioneers, said: ‘To have not one but two of the world’s most significant Ford Escort RS1800s in the same sale is an extraordinary privilege.
‘Each car offers a different kind of perfection – one restored to absolute concours standard, the other preserved in its original factory condition.
‘Together, they illustrate why Ford’s RS heritage remains so revered among collectors.’
