specIFICATION

Mark 1 Ford Escort Lotus Twin Cam

Registration: TVK282G

‍Chassis: BB49HY23866

‍Odometer: 31,000

‍Transmission: Manual

‍MOT: April 2023

Engine rebuilt in 2022 by Ford guru Peter Vaughan at N V J Developments and fitted back into the car by Graham Quick and his team at Q S Motorsport to the sum of £14,000

Fitted with twin Weber carburettors and still retains the original specification airbox

Fitted with new matching Goodyear tyres

Fitted with an Ashley exhaust system and GAZ adjustable rear shock absorbers

Replacement body shell to correct specification.

Believed to be only 21 examples currently registered on UK roads.

Supplied with original handbook.

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By the time the Escort first came out in 1968, Ford were already firmly wedded to the marketing strategy of ‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ and were keenly aware that they would need a race/rally version to take over from where the mighty Lotus Cortina had left off.

To this end Ford’s Boreham-based competition department had been quietly beavering away on a Lotus-powered Escort that was ready to roll as soon as the standard models hit the showrooms. Called the Twin Cam, the hot new Escort immediately excelled on the international race and rally circuits, winning countless events and securing Ford the coveted World Rally Championship manufacturer’s trophy in its first year of production, a feat which it also repeated the following year.

Externally there was very little difference between the Twin Cam and its tamer two-door sibling, the Escort GT, but the reinforced Type 49 body shell had wider wheel arches, quarter bumpers, uprated suspension and front disc brakes as standard. It was powered by basically the same engine as the Lotus Cortina with a Lotus-designed eight-valve twin camshaft head mated to Ford’s 1.5 L pre-crossflow block bored out to 1,558cc. Producing 110bhp and driving through a 2000E gearbox, it had a top speed of 115mph.

The first 25 cars were assembled at Boreham but mainstream production transferred to Halewood during Spring 1968, the retail price being £1,163. Only 883 Twin Cam models were made before production ended in 1970 to make way for the BDA-engined RS1600.

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This is a rare opportunity to acquire a stunning Mk 1 Twin Cam thats had a fortune lavished on it and is possibly the best one available today.