Vehicles - 1976 Ford Escort Mk2 RS1800

Last crawled date: 3 years, 11 months ago

The squarer-styled Mark II version appeared in January 1975. The first production models had rolled off the production lines on 2 December 1974. Unlike the first Escort (which was solely a British effort), the second generation was developed along with Ford of Germany. Codenamed 'Brenda' during its development, it used the same mechanicals as the Mark I. The 950 cc engine was still offered in Italy but in larger markets elsewhere in Europe it was unavailable. The estate and van versions used the same panelwork as the Mark I, but with the Mark II front end and interior. The car used a revised underbody, which had in fact been introduced as a running change during the last six months of the life of the Mark I. This car made a point, just with its four body styles, of competing in many different niches of the market, which rival manufacturers either had multiple models ranges, or simply none at all. 'L' and 'GL' models (2-door, 4-door, estate) were in the mainstream private sector, the 'Sport', 'Mexico', and 'RS2000' in the performance market, the 'Ghia' (2-door, 4-door) for an untapped small car luxury market, and 'base / Popular' models for the bottom end. Panel-van versions catered to the commercial sector. During the second half of the 1970s, the Escort continued to prove hugely popular with buyers in Britain and other parts of Europe.