Ford Escort MK1 RS1600 - [1970] Review | Specs, Technical Information and History

Car Review, Figures and Specs for the Ford Escort MK1 RS1600 - [1970]

1970 Ford Escort MK1 RS1600

Successor to the Escort twin-cam

The RS1600 was announced in 1970 and was the successor to the Escort twin cam. The RS1600 was borne out of the newly formed Ford Advanced Vehicle Operations (AVO), and the Ford Rallye Sport (RS) dealer network. These were setup tasked with building performance versions of the complete Ford range and also manufacture a range of tuning equipment. 1970 was also the year of the Daily Mirror World Cup Rally - won by Hannu Mikkola driving a Ford Escort whilst Escorts also won 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th positions.

Ford Escort MK1 RS1600 - [1970]

RS - Rally Sport - Rally Spec

The RS1600 was fitted with a double over head cam 1600cc BDA 16 valve engine with the road version pumping out a respectable 120 bhp and the works rally version a more serious 160 bhp. The cars that won the World Cup Rally were RS1600's fitted with 1860 pushrod engines (X-flows) instead of the BDA unit. Aswell as the 1600 OHC 16 valve powerplant, the RS1600 had a four -speed synchromesh gearbox driving the rear wheels connected to Semi-floating Live rear axle. The 13 inch extra wide wheels were neatly surrounded by the distinctive flared arches which also housed Independent coil springs, MacPherson struts with integral dampers and stabilizer bar at the front and semi-elliptic leaf springs and radius arms, telescopic hydraulic shock absorbers to the rear. To finish off the rally spec theme, two quartz halogen headlamps with combined sidelights were fitted for good measure.

Rear Wheel Rally Drifting

As the Ford Escort was developed through the 1970s, the 1.6-litre 16-valve RS Escorts were enlarged, first to 1.8 and later to 2.0-litres. By 1975, RS1600s had won world-class rallies including the British RAC three times in succession between 1972 and 1974. Starring in the Fast and Furious 6 film, the RS1600 is now destined as a firm favourite of car lovers old and new. The RS1600 can still be seen drifting around rallies around the world and on YouTube. If you want a drift machine with a sweet sounding engine then look no further. If you want an accomplished rally bred race car with sublime handling and poise and a host of aftermarket performance parts look no further.

Summary