Ford Escort RS1600 Mk1 for sale
1 car in stock right now, inspected in the European country where it is located, priced landed at a US port with the import paperwork done.
The Escort RS1600 (1970–1974) is the homologation car that made the Mk1 Escort a rally legend: a Cosworth BDA 16-valve twin-cam, built at Ford’s Advanced Vehicle Operations at Aveley, in roughly 1,100 examples. The Mk1 Escort was a European model — Ford of Britain and Ford of Germany — and was never sold in the United States, where the Escort name only appeared in 1981 on a completely different front-wheel-drive car.
Why Americans want it
It is one of the most successful rally cars ever built, in its original homologation form, and it is the Ford that American enthusiasts know from footage and have never been able to buy. The BDA engine alone is a piece of motorsport history.
What the US never got
- The Mk1 Escort in any form. The US Escort of 1981 shares only the name.
- RS1600 (1970–1974), Cosworth BDA 16-valve.
- Twin Cam, Mexico, RS2000 and the AVO cars generally.
Eligible years (25-year rule)
Every Mk1 Escort is eligible now. Production ended in 1974.
What to look for
- Identity above all. At these values, replicas and re-shelled cars are the norm rather than the exception. The AVO build records, the chassis number and the body type are what establish a genuine RS1600. Buy the documentation.
- Rust: the Mk1 shell rusts everywhere — chassis legs, strut towers, floors, sills, A-pillars, rear arches. A full restoration is a bare shell job.
- The BDA: specialist engine, specialist rebuild cost, and a real market in replacement blocks and heads. Ask what is actually in the car.
- Period competition history adds value, but it has to be documented, not asserted.
- Modifications: most of these cars were used hard and rebuilt to rally specification. A standard road car is rarer than a historic rally car.
Typical landed price
Europe: documented cars command serious money — roughly €125,000 for an exceptional one. Landed at Newark or Baltimore with duty at the rate in effect on entry: around $190,000.
Registration notes
- California: built after 1967, gasoline; CARB lab certification applies, not guaranteed.
- Fuel: gasoline.
- Title: pre-1981 chassis number, not a 17-character VIN. Some DMVs handle short numbers differently; the CBP entry package is the source document and the US title is issued from it.
- Right-hand drive on British-built cars is legal in every state.
Our take
This is a car bought on paperwork. A genuine RS1600 with AVO records and a known history is a different asset from a very good Mk1 built to look like one, and only the documents tell you which is in front of you.
FAQ
Was the Mk1 Ford Escort sold in the United States?
No. The Mk1 was a European model. The American Escort of 1981 was an unrelated front-wheel-drive car that shared the name.
What is the BDA?
A Cosworth-developed 16-valve belt-driven twin-cam cylinder head on a Ford block, which is what makes the RS1600 an RS1600.
How do I know a car is genuine?
Through AVO build records, the chassis number and the shell type. Replicas and re-shelled cars are common at these values.