﹒Imported from the idyllic climates of South Africa
﹒Period Perana rear louvre
The Background
Riding high on the crest of its multiple rally victories, Ford broadened its RS Escort range in 1976 with the addition of the Pinto-engined RS2000.
The RS2000 was a rear-wheel-drive sports-oriented version of the Escort Mk2 and was easily identified by its polyurethane beak, which bolted on to the standard Escort's front end and incorporated quadruple headlamps and an aerodynamic sloping grille.
In addition, the RS2000 featured side graphics, a blacked out rear panel and a black rubber lip spoiler on the boot lid.
Like all rear-wheel-drive Escorts, the RS2000 has become increasingly popular in recent years with stratospheric increases in valuations and cars with the correct pedigree going for seriously good money.
This example fits that bill. It's unusual in that it’s a South African-built car and was imported to the UK a few years ago, its current owner buying it through a friend with contacts over there.
Unlike most UK cars, it has never had any bodywork repairs during its life. Indeed, all of the car’s paintwork is original and it's never been restored. That means that it has a few signs of age, none of which detract from its overall appearance and if anything add to its patina.
Although the owner has kept much of the paperwork related to this car while it has been in the UK, much of its early life is not known.
It was built at the SAMCOR factory near Pretoria, South Africa, in 1978, where the company also built Cortinas and V6-engined Granadas as CKD kits for the South African market.
The Escort was largely the same as a UK-spec car but for a few differences, the most notable being opening front quarter lights in the doors as opposed to the one-piece front windows in UK cars.
A Ford Motor Company of South Africa VIN plate appears on the car’s front panel, highlighting its origin.
While the exterior of the car has never been restored, the current owner took it upon himself to re-trim the interior which was both worn and sun damaged.
He went to the bother of finding the original seat material and both front seats have been re-trimmed in their original black cloth. New black carpets further enhance the interior’s aesthetic appeal.
All dials and switches operate as they should and the dashboard blanking plate proves that no radio has ever been fitted, further enhancing this car’s originality.
Finished in Venetian Red, the Escort's paintwork is astonishing given that it is 42 years old and has never been resprayed.
As a result, you could forgive it for not being perfect. If you wanted the basis for a concours restoration then this car will be it, as the body is in great condition.
But to do so would possibly detract from this car’s overall appeal as in its current state it looks absolutely stunning.
Get up close, and you'll notice a few imperfections. There's a dent in the offside rear sill and another smaller dent on the near side front scuttle panel, but these are all part of the car’s history and unless you wanted to take some of that away, then in many ways they add to its originality. After all, this is a car that wears all of its original factory paintwork and over 90% of it is in astonishingly good condition.
There are a couple of areas that have been touched in, repairing minor scratches both on the panels and the bumpers, but again these are all part of this remarkable car’s unrestored story. There are others that are spotless, immaculate restorations, but there are none that have this car’s completely untouched factory specification.
Included in the sale are the four spoke RS alloy wheels fitted to the car, which were not those with which it left the factory. However, the original steel sports wheels are included should you wish to put it back to standard.
As with the bodywork, the engine is in fine shape too, with the only difference to the factory standard being the addition of a K&N air filter, which the current owner added to improve performance as well as the engine’s soundtrack.
However, he's been careful to retain the original air box should you wish to put it back to 100% standard specification. The car also comes with a spare starter motor and some spare rear lamp units.
The car starts on the button and soon settles to steady idle with no excessive smoke and the engine sounds very healthy.
This is a car that appeals on many levels. One of those is its overall condition as despite a few very minor cosmetic defects, none of which you immediately notice, it looks a million dollars.
It would very easily convert into a concours standard restoration and if that's the way you wanted to take it then the cost of getting there really wouldn't be prohibitive. But, and it's a big but, what that would do is take away some of this car’s remarkable originality. It's not perfect, but it is absolutely stunning and the very few minor cosmetic defects add more to its patina than a full restoration would take away.
We can't think of a more original RS2000 on the market right now.
Notice to bidders
Although every care is taken to ensure this listing is as factual and transparent as possible, all details within the listing are subject to the information provided to us by the seller. Car & Classic does not take responsibility for any information missing from the listing. Please ensure you are satisfied with the vehicle description and all information provided before placing a bid.
As is normal for most auctions, this vehicle is sold as seen, and therefore the Sale of Goods Act 1979 does not apply. All bids are legally binding once placed. Any winning bidder who withdraws from a sale, is subject to our bidders fee charge. Please see our FAQs and T&C's for further information. Viewings of vehicles are encouraged, but entirely at the sellers discretion.
Il modo più sicuro per acquistare un'auto d'epoca online
Il sistema di pagamento sicuro di Car & Classic protegge acquirenti e venditori. Al termine dell'asta, l'offerente vincente trasferisce il pagamento su un conto vincolato di terzi. Una volta completato il trasferimento del veicolo, entrambe le parti confermano di essere soddisfatte della vendita e il denaro viene rilasciato al venditore.
Maggiori informazioni su come acquistare con noi
1978 Ford Escort RS2000
Come funzionano le offerte massime
Il processo di offerta massima ti permette di fare offerte senza preoccupazioni.
Inserisci la tua offerta massima e il sistema farà offerte automaticamente per assicurarsi che tu sia il miglior offerente - fino all'ammontare da te stabilito come tetto massimo.
Anti-sniping
Car & Classic contrasta il fenomeno dello “sniping”, ovvero il fenomeno dei rilanci all'ultimo secondo per vincere l'asta.
Se viene fatta un'offerta nei 3 minuti prima della chiusura dell'asta, la scadenza di questa viene automaticamente estesa di 2 minuti per permettere agli altri offerenti di reagire e, se lo desiderano, di rilanciare.
Incrementi di offerta automatica
Se la sua offerta massima è uguale o inferiore al prezzo di riserva, la sua offerta massima sarà applicata per intero se lei è il miglior offerente.
Se siete il miglior offerente e fate un'offerta massima superiore a quella di riserva, la riserva verrà automaticamente inserita come prima offerta.
Una volta raggiunta la riserva, Car & Classic si assicurerà che tu sia il miglior offerente utilizzando solo gli incrementi di offerta indicati di seguito.
Vi terremo in testa fino alla vostra offerta massima O all'incremento più vicino alla vostra offerta massima, a condizione che la vostra offerta massima sia sufficiente a coprire il valore dell'incremento.
Ammontare dell'offerta
Incremento
Da £0 a £9,999
£100.00
Da £10,000 a £49,999
£250.00
Da £50,000 a £99,999
£500.00
£100,000 +
£1,000.00
Superamento immediato dell'offerta
Quando piazzi un'offerta massima e questa viene immediatamente superata, questo significa che un altro offerente ha impostato una soglia di offerta massima superiore alla tua.
Puoi fare nuovamente un'offerta o impostare una soglia più alta di offerta massima e il nostro sistema rilancerà fino alla nuova soglia, cercando di portarti a essere il miglior offerente.
Offerte massime di pari ammontare
Quando ci sono due offerte massime di pari ammontare, quella impostata per prima è quella che viene considerata “migliore offerta”.
Pre-autorizzazione
Potremmo trattenere un piccolo importo di pre-autorizzazione sulla tua carta fino alla fine dell'asta, quando quest'ultimo verrà poi stornato. Se vinci, verrà prelevata una caparra che verrà detratta dal pagamento del prezzo di vendita per il veicolo e non comporta costi aggiuntivi per te.
Cosa sono le Offerte pre-asta?
Offerte pre-asta significa che avete la possibilità di fare offerte prima dell'inizio ufficiale dell'asta.
Verrà comunicato se si è il miglior offerente o meno all'inizio dell'asta.
Problema con l'offerta
Le offerte sono contrattualmente vincolanti. Per tutelare l'utente, sono previste alcune regole nel caso in cui si ritenga che sia stato digitato in modo errato. Si prega di controllare e modificare quanto inserito.
