Wild jumper - Ford Escort RS 2000 in the (historic) test

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Wild jumper - Ford Escort RS 2000 in the (historic) test

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Created on August 1, 1973

Text:

Lothar Boschen

Photos:

Ford/Werk

2

Archiv Bernhard Brägger

1

Ford Motor Company

1

Archiv

14

18

Ford Escort RS 2000 (1973) - lies like a board on the road

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1973) - with the characteristic paintwork with the stripe across the flank and on the hood

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1973) - probably from German production

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1973) - with two-liter engine and specific livery

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Ford Escort Sport (1973) - less powerful than the new Escort RS 2000

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1974) - on the road in the UK

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Ford Escort Mexico (1974) - from English-German joint production

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1974) - Hansjörg Elmiger and co-driver Max Heinzer are always good for a spectacle on gravel

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1974) - Mikkola and Davenport win the 1000 Lakes Rally

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1974) - Gearshift seats with plenty of lateral support

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1974) - grippy steering wheel and complete dashboard

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Ford Escort (1973) - at the roller dynamometer in Saarlouis

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Ford Escort (1973) - at the quality control in Saarlouis

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Ford Escort (1973) - Production at the Saarlouis plant

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1973) - Advertising - not only built for rally drivers

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1974) - in advertising - an alternative to the ordinary

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Ford Escort RS 2000 (1973) - Tuning program

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Summary

Ford described the new Escort RS 2000, which had been upgraded with a two-liter OHC engine and was intended to challenge the BMW 2002, as a secret sports car with exceptional performance. With 100 hp, it was the most attractive and most affordable offering in this segment in Germany. This test report from that time determines whether it was competitive regardless of the price.

This article contains the following chapters

Escort and Consul engine combination
Equipment features
Escort driving characteristics
Technical data & measured values

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Ford describes the new Escort RS 2000, upgraded with a 2-liter OHC engine, as a secret sports car with exceptional performance. sport auto investigates whether this promise is kept and whether Ford has really succeeded in challenging the BMW 2002 with this car. Ford followed the BMW 2002 recipe of fitting the engine of a larger colleague into a small, lightweight body with the Escort RS 2000. Whereas the 72 hp Escort 1300 GT (or Sport) had previously been the most attractive offering in the model series in Germany, 100 hp from a displacement of 2 liters is now available. The engine unit is well known from various other Ford models because, originally designed for the American Ford small car Pinto, it is now used in both the Ford Consul and the Ford Capri (for the time being only for export). The joint Anglo-German production is a modern engine design with a five-bearing crankshaft, an overhead camshaft driven by a plastic toothed belt and a cross-flow cylinder head. The power output is roughly equivalent to a BMW 2-liter engine (with single carburetor), namely 100 hp, which is available on demand at 5700 rpm.

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