A very serious mkII

There are a number of different routes you can go down when building a mkII Escort. Some prefer to restore to factory standard or concours condition. Others like the South London look, low with pastel shades, wide four-spokes and HPE crossflows. A perennial favourite is to build the car for stage rallying, swathed in Rothmans livery or Cossack stripes. Or you can do something like this: build a focused track car for sprints, hillclimbs and trackdays.

Under the bonnet resides a turbocharged, intercooled Cosworth YB; gearbox unknown, but the gearknob (unless it's a wry quip by the owner) suggests a BMW six-speeder, which is an unusual choice. Huge AP Racing brakes sit behind wide split-rims under those aggressive forest arches, while at the rear is an unmissable spoiler and a diff cooler poking from beneath the rear valance. Inside the cabin is all serious business too, with cartoonishly winged buckets, a robust 'cage and some fastidious weight removal. All in all, a very serious bit of fun.

Photos taken by SuckSqueezeBangBlow at Motorsport at the Palace 2012.