Regarded as perhaps the ultimate rear-wheel drive Ford Escort, the Mk2-based RS1800 arrived in 1975 and was one of the rarest, most legendary high-performance models developed by Ford Europe.

It remains one of Ford’s most successful motorsport cars and, like any marque’s official race/rally machines, there had to be a road-going version to enable the cars to obtain homologation for competition, so the RS1800 is a true 'homologation special' produced specifically so the Escort Mk2 could enter international motorsport.

Not built for mass appeal, there was always going to be a limited customer base and consequently they are very rare with only 109 finding homes in period.

An evolution of the similarly powered Mk1-based RS1600, motivation was provided by the formidable Cosworth-tuned, naturally-aspirated, 1,835cc four-cylinder 16-valve BDA engine, capable of delivering 115bhp.

In many ways the RS1800 can be considered as a BDA-powered Mk2 Mexico, sharing the same heavy-duty bodyshell,...