Ultimate 'Ford Escort' rally car recreation - MST Mk1 driven 50 years after historic RAC rally win

The MST Mk1 is not, legally or by name at least, a mk1 Ford Escort. But materially and mechanically it's a close match for the formative, 1970s-era, competition-specification version of one of the most famous rally cars there has ever been; and it's both brand new and road-legal.

Built by Motorsport Tools of Pwllheli, it's the work of a company that has spent years supporting, repairing and restoring historic mk1 and mk2 Escort rally cars. It exists in order to supply those who want a more habitable and usable, but still authentic-feeling, brand-new-and-yet-still-classic mk1 Escort with a car they can enjoy on the road as often as they like.

Built out of a mix of MST's own specially designed chassis and body stampings, and competition-grade axles and driveline components of the sort you'd find on a historic rally car, the MST Mk1 is powered by a 2.0-litre, 260bhp Cosworth 'BDG' racing engine of the same family that powered Ford's 1970s rallying Escorts, which revs beyond 8000rpm and sounds ear-splittingly shrill. Our man Matt Saunders found out exactly that on roads close to the Escort's glory-days forest rally stages in Snowdonia, North Wales. Ear plugs at the ready, folks.

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