The Classic Sale At Silverstone Festival 25th - 27th August 2023

+ buyers premium of 12.5% plus VAT (15% incl VAT) on the first £300,000 of the hammer and 10% plus VAT (12% incl VAT) thereafter 27 The car presented here was built on 19th August 1992 and is one of those early 2,500 cars; delivered new in factory ‘Motorsport’ specification, so in Diamond White (73) paintwork, with Raven interior/Hexagon fabric and A/C deleted, and like many others in this configuration, was destined to become a rally car. It was originally purchased through Brooklyn Ford of Redditch by Co-ordSport of Oldbury, the hugely well-respected and long-standing motorsport specialists, who have built and run rally cars with many major teams and sponsors, around the World and have won FIA events and Championships and the SCCA North American Rally Championship. The car was subsequently rally-prepared to ‘Group N’ + standards, utilising genuine Ford Motorsport 909 parts (its Motorsport bladder fuel tank was made by Premier Fuel Systems of Castle Donnington), before being exported in 1993 to Jakarta (photo attached of it waiting to leave in the Co-ordSport offices) for their customer, a Mr Maher Algadri, a businessman and son of Hamid Algadri, the prominent Indonesian political figure. The Escort was destined to have an extremely short career though, and after tackling the Indonesian forests in only a couple of events, where Maher was co-driven by Peter Collinson (the MD of Co-ordSport), it was parked up in late 1993, having covered only a few hundred miles. Maher’s new rally cars had started to arrive and were to take priority. The Escort was destined not to turn a wheel for a very long time, and although garaged, with the dust beginning to gather on its bodywork and the rally tyres starting to deflate, the car’s hibernation was well underway. Although very much hidden from public view, there was the odd, rare sighting and one occasion being when the engineers from Possum Bourne Motorsport came across it. Richard Rowlands, the former head mechanic for Peter ‘Possum’ Bourne, the late champion New Zealand rally driver, recalls a vivid memory seeing this Escort in Maher’s basement: ‘In July of 1995, myself and one of the other boys from Possum Bourne Motorsport went to Indonesia to look after a ‘Group A’ Impreza that our customer Maher Algadri was running in a round of the Indonesian Rally Championship. Whilst there, we were staying at Maher’s residence in Jakarta, and I ventured down into his extensive underground car park and found a Group N Escort Cosworth sitting in the corner on semi flat tyres, covered in dust.’ In the 2000s, the Escort became the property of an enthusiast-owner in Australia however, sadly for the car, many more years lay ahead of being under a cover and tucked away in a garage and its new life in Australia was to be even less action- packed than in Indonesia. The hibernation continued. In 2021, the Escort was to get its first big break in almost 30-years, as it was ‘stumbled across’ by its next and more proactive owner, who instantly recognised its outstanding originality and appreciated its sought after status. As Ford’s RS Cosworth range had never been made available on the Australian market, this rally car had perhaps been overlooked for many years presumed to be a ‘foreign Ford’ with its wider appeal and reputation perhaps lost on those ‘not-in-the-know’ Down Under. Under new and dutiful ownership, the little RS received a well-deserved 30th birthday when it was meticulously checked-over, with all appropriate maintenance carried out, ensuring its originality was upheld whilst all serviceable components were replaced. Only after this most thorough and careful recommissioning process was it then ready to begin its new life. This astonishingly original and barely used Escort RS rally car has covered just 703 miles from new, with an integrity and condition wholly commensurate with such low- mileage. It remains a fully matching numbers, engine-and-Motorsport-tags-present car and all the Ford Motorsport 909 parts are still in place with even the numbers- matching factory glass remaining in-situ. In the car’s boot is yet another reminder as to just how unused it is, the original spare wheel and Michelin FB81 gravel tyre are still present and correct. The underside of the car is immaculate and would be a remarkable sight on a road car, let alone a rally car! The composite underbody protection has merely a few chips and light grazes, the only slight sign this car has seen any form of use. After recently travelling 30,000 miles by sea over eight weeks, but only 703 miles on land over 31 years, this unrepeatable Escort RS ‘Cossie’ Motorsport has finally now returned home. It has never been registered/owned in the UK (only ever showing on the internal Ford dealer data system) and consequently any buyer will be its first UK owner. Importantly, it is recorded as an Escort RS Cosworth for logbook/V5C purposes, not as an ‘Escort’ as many of the rally cars are. A hugely rare opportunity to a acquire a ‘time-warp’ car that could be used as a template for any restoration - it is that good! Thought to be lost to the world, this fascinating piece of Ford history has now returned to the UK. Unrepeatably original and in superb mechanical and cosmetic condition. Lot 317 1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth Motorsport ‘Group N’ Rally Car - 703 Miles From New Registration: N/A Chassis No.: WF0BXXGKABNE93383 Estimate: £160,000 - £200,000 Specialist: Joseph Watts Telephone No: 07779 082707 More Details Lot 317 Bid On Lot 317