Ford Escort Mk1 Mexico

This lot will be auctioned via Iconic Auctioneers, The Classic Sale at the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show 2026 on Saturday the 21st of March Sunday the 22nd of March, NEC, Birmingham, B40 1NT. , It seems likely that Ford already had plans to introduce a highperformance Escort to fit in the range between the 1300GT and the Twin Cam/RS1600, but their victory in the 1970 World Cup Rally, which finished in Mexico, provided an ideal platform to launch such a model,The engineers at the newly formed AVO (Advanced Vehicles Operations) quickly developed the 'Mexico', marrying the Type 49 bodyshell as used in the Twin Cam and RS1600 with the 1,600cc Kent 'crossflow' engine and 2000E gearbox, so effectively, the Mexico was basically a reengined Twin Cam/RS1600.,The Sebring Red example on offer here was acquired by our vendor in 2015 but has very little history apart from that,It does carry the correct VIN (BFATMK) on the Chassis Plate with the colour designated on the AVO build plate. It is also badged '1600GT' which was common on some early examples with the broad side stripe,The car presents well and we imagine was restored at some point but we cannot confirm,Similarly the indicated mileage of 10,093 may have been since the resto but is not warranted,The interior is tidy and appears to be correct,The Mexico was AVO's most successful and numerous of the 'Rally Sport Escorts' and it had a number of advantages on the road in that it offered decent performance, was easy to maintain, relatively easy to insure and above all it was great to drive, something which is still true today.,