- Here’s a Ford hot hatch that we never got in the States, and it’s for sale on the online auction site Bring a Trailer until Friday, January 5.
- On the Continent, the range-topping Escort RS had a turbocharged engine, a manual transmission, and a limited-slip differential.
- This example, sold new in Spain, is now on offer in Florida.
On this side of the Atlantic, the Ford Escort was never really seen as much of a performance car. The second-generation Escort GT of the early 1990s had lots of Mazda parts and drove better than expected, but the rest of the Escort range was largely thrifty and dull. Not so in Europe, where the Escort nameplate had established a history of rally wins and some quite tasty special editions were offered.
This Escort RS Turbo S1 on Bring a Trailer—which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos—is a delightful nugget of boy-racer hooliganism. The feisty little front-wheel-drive hatchback has a nose full of boost and a penchant for handbrake turns and other hooning.
The RS badge has a storied history in Ford’s European operations, dating back to the 1970s. Only the fastest Fords received the designation, from the mighty Sierra Cosworth to the rally homologation special Escort RS Cosworth. This Escort RS Turbo is a little tamer than those two titans, with a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine good for just 132 horsepower. Mind you, the car weighs just over 2000 pounds.
Most Escort RS Turbos were sold in the U.K. in right-hand-drive form, but this 1986 example hails from Spain and has the equivalent of just 58,000 miles on the odometer. The interior has had some recent refurbishment and boasts hip-hugging Recaro seats, and there are a few minor mechanical updates including a stainless-steel exhaust.
Add a five-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential, and you’ve got a little gem of a Euro hatch in Diamond White. And you can claim some pretty exclusive company, as none other than the late Diana, Princess of Wales, owned an Escort RS Turbo back in the day. Hers was one of the very few that left the Ford factory in black.
The Princess’s Escort RS Turbo sold at auction last year for an eye-watering $857,712. With no royal connection, this one should be several orders of magnitude more affordable. The auction ends on January 5.
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.