–By Colin McFadden– Living with a “car person” means occasionally being left abandoned while your partner runs off to find the source of a faintly heard engine note, or chasing a glimpse of some interesting metal. While I can keep things under control if I see a new Ferrari or Lamborghini, all inhibition is lost at the sight or sound of something really interesting, like a fully rally prepped Mark 1 Ford Escort.
I spotted this particular Escort on the island of Faial in the Azores. We’d just arrived on Faial, and were walking along the main road in the town of Horta when I heard the pops and bangs of a fruity four cylinder engine approaching. I got my camera out just in time to catch sight of the Escort going past, with a bonus shot of Mount Pico in the background.
Little did we know, we’d arrived at a fortuitous time—during the running of the Azores Rally. We were later able to watch a special stage through town, where we caught this Escort going properly sideways. While we were on hikes, we could see the plumes of dust being kicked up by the cars running through the forest.
The Escort itself was a hugely successful car, though never imported into the USA. The Mark I was built from 1967 until 1975, and the sixth generation continued up until 2002. (While we had a car called the Escort in the US starting in the 80s, it wasn’t truly a shared product with the rest of the world.)
The Mark I Escort is especially beloved in the UK car scene, and has become a popular project for restomodding – see for example Henry Catchpole’s excellent review of the MST Mk1. And for a later generation, the 1990s Escort RS Cosworth is an early “hot hatch” or even “super hatch” which led to all kinds of moral panic in the UK. As any proper car should.