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Ford Escort Mk2 Reimagined As Modern WRC Car Complete With Martini Livery

After the innaugural season of the World Rally Championship, the Ford Motor Company introduced the second generation of the Escort family car to great acclaim. Similar to its predecessor, the Mk2 was entered in the most prestigious rallying events of the world, helping the Blue Oval sell more Escorts than predicted.
Modern Ford Escort WRC rendering 9 photos
Photo: Matthew Parsons on Behance
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It wasn’t all fun and games, though, partially because the Mk2’s predecessor won lots of reputable series, including the back-breaking 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally. The second generation’s first big win came in 1975 at the RAC Rally, and in the 1979 season of the WRC, works drivers Bjorn Waldegard and Hannu Mikkola finished first and second in the drivers’ championship. Ari Vatanen finished the year in fifth, and the combined success of the Escort RS1800 helped the Ford Motor Company snatch the manufacturers’ title from Datsun, with Fiat finishing the year on third place.

The success of 1979 would be replicated by Ford in 2006 at the hands of Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen, though the Escort was dead and bloated by then, already replaced by the compact-sized Focus towards the turn of the millennium. But for all that, the Escort – including the Mk2 – lives on in the hearts and minds of motorsport enthusiasts and classic car lovers.

His admiration for a true classic on the rallying scene made Matthew Parsons take up his design skills and put them to good use, trying to imagine how the Mk2 would look like, and in a nutshell, the road-going Escort Mk2 for the 21st century is a sight to behold. The squared-off front end and the short deck make it an irresistible proposition as a sub-Mustang RWD sports car.

The WRC-spec car is more gorgeous, though. Pictured in Martini livery and with Cosworth decals serving as a nod to the 1.8- and 2.0-liter BDE and BDG engines, the modern-day interpretation of the rallying Mk2 Escort is something the world definitely needs. In the wake of the Ford name returning to WRC as part of the M-Sport team, it would be a treat for Ford to change its weapon of choice from the Fiesta WRC to Matthew's rendering.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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