Fantastic day out

[Steveyk]

I've been a lucky boy today and been down to the top secret Ford Heritage collection. I've taken a few pics of the machinery they keep down there. Everything runs once a week and if journo's need a Ford, this is where they go. They have everything from model T's to a Focus RS500. I've spent the day sitting in Hannu Mikola's Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts, driving round a Mk1 Mexico and the Mexico Rally winning Mk1 that inspired it. I've poked round a Sapphire Cosworth, a Sierra Cosworth, a one-off 4WD Mk1 Capri, endless XR2 and XR2i's, an XR3i, a GT, Supervan 3, a V4 Corsair, a Lotus Cortina, pretty much Ford's entire back catalogue. The Jewel in the crown for me was the RS200. It's the last one ever produced, and they also have the original prototype. Much to my suprise I was offered a spin in the RS200. What a machine! I've wanted a go in one since I was about 5 years old...

[WR1 Bro]

Wrong forum mate. Lol. Awesome

[buffy]

maybe wrong forum but what lovely pics,

[SteveS]

I love you and want your babies.......... Seriously, that has to be a lifetime memory you lucky bu$$er

[Megaman]

Great day out and pics mate - Nothing wrong with Ford!!

[Gary75]

Who's the lucky person that looks after that collection? I'm a Sierra Cosworth fan loved the big wing when it first came out in the late 80's, not so keen on the Sapphire version, didn't float my boat, but saying that, didn't have a surf board attached to the back

[John Mc]

Where is it?

Great pictures

[markywr1]

Big old Skool ford fan myself, looks like you had a great day, am jealous! Been contemplating getting another one recently.

[Steveyk]

It's down at the Ford engine plant at Dagenham and it's a very hard place to get into apparently. It's literally a big shed and there must be 70 fords in there, all covered up. It's not a museum thats open to the public and half the staff at the plant don't know it's there! My little bro knows the PR head at Ford so he got us in for the day. Absolutely amazing place for any petrolhead! The RS200 makes an Impreza feel like an S Class merc, it's like being trapped in a turbocharged threshing machine, in an explosion. There's miles of private roads and empty wasteland too...

If I could have come away with one car it'd be the Sierra Cossie RS500, but if I could have had three, it'd be the Cossie, the RS200, the Mexico, a Racing Puma, a gorgeous 1.3 Mk1 Escort, Hannu Mikkola's 1.6 BDA Mk1 rally car (never heard a noise like it), and a Capri 280 Brooklands. I know that's more than three, but what can you do?

[marchar]

thats bloody great, I always wondered if there was a place like that and if other manufacturers have something the same ?

[Steveyk]

It was great, but I can't imagine anyone in 30 years time going to see old Kias and Hyundais!

It might not be there much longer anyway, there's some doubt as to whether the bean-counters at Ford see millions of pounds worth of old cars sitting around and paying people to look after them as a good use of money...

[Autotecnica]

I always thought a RS200 wasn't a proper ford? I think its more closely related to a robin or scimitar after all they were made by Reliant.

[asperformance]

Scimitar were (maybe still are??) a coach builder in the mould of Tickford, Cosworth and various others who all have built factory specials over the years.......

Tickford Capri anyone??

[Steveyk]

The RS200 was a pure Ford effort, not related to anything else at the time because it was built and homologated specifically for group B rallying. Built on a steel spaceframe with double wishbones all round and two shocks per wheel. It didn't have a cosworth engine, it was apparently more closely related to the BDA twin-cam used in the escort rally cars. The bodywork may have been made by Reliant as they were pretty handy with GRP bodies. It was mid-engined but front-gearboxed, so the power came from the back, to the front and then back to the back axle. Bonkers. It weighed a bit over a ton in Rally spec and churned out anything up to 850bhp from 1.8 litres!

Tickford also built the aluminium arches for the racing Puma.

[asperformance]

it housed a 1.8BDT engine (throw over from the aborted RS1700T RWD mk3 escort)

Cosworth only came on the scene with the head for the Sierra for the new grpA era