I have been interested in cars since a very young age – I recall helping my dad fix his old Mk1 Ford Escorts back in the day.
Dad was a driving instructor, so cars were a big part of growing up.
At the age of 16 I bought my first car: a white (and brown with rust) Mk1 Escort estate.
Since then, I’ve had many Fords, including a 1300E Escort, two Mk2 RS 2000s, a few rough Mk2s with Pintos in them, a Fiesta Supersport, Mk3 XR3i, three Escort RS Turbos, a Capri 2.8i, a Fiesta RS Turbo and a Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth.
The Ford Escort RS 1600i’s cabin transports Grant McKelvie back to the 1980s, when his friend owned one
After a few years with a Lancia Delta HF Integrale, some Subarus and a Nissan Pulsar GTI-R, I’m back to Ford with this 1983 Escort RS 1600i. I also have a Toyota GR Yaris, which gets used daily.
I bought this Escort in 2018 from Ford specialist The Car Cave in Midlothian.
I have liked these cars since the mid-’80s, when a friend had one while I had my Mk3 XR3i. We all loved his car because it was the ultimate hot hatch back then, and was considered a very quick machine.
But fast-forward a few decades and it feels terribly slow compared with the Yaris.
The Ford Escort RS 1600i’s twin-coil set-up has since been updated
