Background: The Ford Escort was manufactured from 1968 until 2000 and became a staple, not just of Ford’s global model range but of everyday life across the globe.

Selling in huge numbers, the Escort was the ideal family car, a competition giant and a versatile travelling companion.

The Mk3 version of the story, produced from 1980 to 1986, followed the trend towards front-wheel drive and away from its front-engined, rear-drive forebears.

An entirely new platform deserved a new suit of clothes, with dramatically different body styling, Ford also ringing the changes with all-independent suspension and a new range of engines - the overhead-cam CVH power units - to replace the venerable Kent four-cylinder crossflow in all but 1.1-litre models.

In another first, a diesel power unit was introduced in 1983, capable of 70mpg.

Three-door hatchback, estate and cabriolet models, along with sporty XR3 and XR3i variants, ensured the Escort’s position among the best sellers for months on end a...