1972 Ford Escort Mk.I Mexico

The Ford Escort Mexico was introduced in November 1970 and was named to celebrate Ford Motor Company's victory in the World Cup Rally. This rally started in London on 19th April 1970 and finished some 16,000 miles later in Mexico. Originally Ford intended to use Escorts with the Twin Cam or BDA engine, but after some reconnaissance, it was decided that high speeds and high power were less important than reliability and ease of servicing, and therefore the 'Kent' pushrod engine was used in the Escort shell.

It seems likely that Ford already had plans to produce a high-performance Escort to fit in the range between the 1300GT and the Twin Cam / RS1600, but their victory in Mexico provided an ideal platform to launch such a model. The engineers at the newly formed A.V.O (Advanced Vehicles Operations) quickly developed the 'Mexico', marrying the Type 49 body-shell as used in the Twin Cam and RS1600 with the 1600cc Kent 'crossflow' engine and 2000E gearbox. So, effectively, the Mexico was basically a re-engined Twin Cam / RS1600.

The Mexico was AVO's most successful and numerous of the 'Rally Sport Escorts,' and it had a number of advantages on the road, in that it had good performance, was easy to maintain, relatively easy to insure, and above all it was great to drive, something which is still very true today.

Presented here is a 1972 Ford Escort Mk.I Mexico finished in Daytona Yellow with its correct "Type 49' bodyshell and its original engine. This stunning example was originally supplied new by KT Dartford Ltd to its first owner as shown on the original bill of sale which is included in the history file. The original service book shows the car has been well maintained throughout having been stamped multiple times by main dealers. The two previous owners of this Mexico were in the same family and hence it remained a treasured possession for many years. Our vendor purchased the car three years ago and set about returning it to its best and embarked on a full nut and bolt Concours-standard restoration. Fully photographed throughout the process, one can really appreciate the standards to which our vendor has worked.

Supplied with many service invoices, its book pack and photos of the restoration, Escort Mk.I Mexicos rarely come to market with all this history, let alone in this outstanding condition.