Ford Escort RS1700T

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ford
Escort RS1700T owned by M-Sport
Escort RS1700T owned by M-Sport
Escort RS1700T
Production period: 1982-1983
Class : Compact class
Body versions : Combi coupe
Engines:
Petrol engines : 1.8–2.3 liters
( 220– over 257 kW)
Length: 3970 mm
Width: 1740 mm
Height: 1385 mm
Wheelbase : 2395 mm
Empty weight : 890-910 kg

The Ford Escort RS1700T is a vehicle that was developed by Ford of Europe in the early 1980s for use in the World Rally Championship . The RS1700T is based on the third series of the Ford Escort and has been significantly modified for racing.

history

The predecessor: Escort RS1800 in the National Motor Museum

The first two series of the Ford Escort have already been used in rallying and have been extremely successful there. In 1979 the Swede Björn Waldegård became the first official world champion of the rally world championship on an Escort RS1800 as a works driver for Ford . Two years later, the Finn Ari Vatanen also won the world title on an Escort RS1800 used by the Rothmans Rallye Team .

After it had already been determined that production of the Escort would be converted to a new model in August 1980, Ford Europe began developing the RS1700T in 1979 in Boreham, England, under the code name "Columbia". The background was marketing because Ford wanted to take part in the World Rally Championship with a vehicle from the current production. However, since a vehicle with front-wheel drive had no chance of winning, the escort experienced numerous technical changes that were permitted under the regulations of the new Group B from 1982 onwards. In contrast to the production model, the RS1700T - as with its predecessor - has the engine not installed transversely but lengthways and the power is transferred to the rear axle. A transaxle gear made a balanced weight distribution possible. John Wheeler, who even at Porsche in the development of the transaxle vehicles Porsche 924 and Porsche 928 was involved, was hired by Ford for the project. The first test drives took place in the winter of 1981/82 on tracks that were also part of the Wales Rally .

Compared to the RS1800, technical components such as a turbocharger , an injection system or wheels with central locking have now been implemented. This technology, which has not yet been tried and tested for Ford, as well as the development of two different vehicles with turbo and naturally aspirated engines led to many problems and delays. To make matters worse, the independently operating motorsport departments in England and Germany had different plans for the use of the vehicles. While England focused on rallying, Ford Germany's main focus was on circuit racing . The high costs that the project already caused would have been drastically increased by building the 200 units required by the regulations. At that time, Ford had no way of building such a vehicle in small series. A joint production with the Escort '81 in the Ford factory in Saarlouis would have led to further increases in costs as well as to difficulties in production there.

Test driver and world rally champion Ari Vatanen

The development department was therefore under great pressure to deliver appropriate results before the planned use of the vehicles in the 1982 Corsica Rally . Six weeks before the planned premiere, Ari Vatanen and Pentti Airikkala , who had driven together with the Rothmans Rally Team in the Escort RS1800 last year, drove the first tests of an RS1700T with turbo engine and an RS2300 with Brian Hart's naturally aspirated engine . The times driven on the routes of the Rally Portugal were compared with those of an Escort RS1800. While Vatanen did not give a good verdict on the naturally aspirated vehicle, the turbocharged vehicle was around two seconds faster per kilometer than the RS1800 and thus a serious opponent for other rally vehicles such as the Fiat 131 , the Opel Ascona , the Lancia 037 or the Renault 5 Turbo . In 1981 and 1982, the Audi quattros were not yet reliable enough to dominate the World Rally Championship. In 1982 Walter Röhrl won the world championship title in the Opel Ascona as the last driver of a non-all-wheel drive vehicle. When the Finn Hannu Mikkola won the driver's world championship in the Audi quattro in 1983, this meant the end of the RS1700T project. The plans to start with the RS1700T and to develop an all-wheel drive vehicle at the same time were discarded for reasons of cost. However, the turbocharged engine and the transaxle transmission from Hewland formed the basis for the new development of the RS200 , which was designed as an all-wheel drive vehicle from the outset and consistently used the possibilities of the Group B regulations.

The remaining vehicles of the RS1700T should be scrapped. However, after project manager Mick Jones switched to Ford South Africa, he bought the vehicles for the local motorsport department in order to use them in national rallies.

Motorsport

Since Ford discontinued the project early, the RS1700T was not used in the World Rally Championship and the vehicles that were no longer needed were to be destroyed. When project manager Mick Jones emigrated to South Africa , however, he bought all available vehicles for Ford South Africa in order to use them in the national championship. In 1984 the vehicles that were not fully developed were launched, but were unable to achieve good results due to initial defects. After the end of the season, the vehicles were technically overhauled. To save weight, unnecessary sheet metal was removed from the underbody and parts of the body were made from synthetic resin reinforced with Kevlar fibers ( aramid ). Polycarbonate panes made it possible to further reduce the weight. In addition, the rear axle suspension was changed, the engine and charge air cooler were changed and two external oil coolers for the engine and transmission were mounted on the tailgate. The Nissan International Rally in 1985 in Cape Town won Serge Damseaux and his navigator Vito Bonafede and plaice All Night Rally in 1985 with co-driver Ivor Peltz . In 1986 an RS1700T finished second in the hill climb in South Africa between two Audi quattro cars.

Vehicles built

"P5" on the way to the Paris Motor Show

A total of 18 vehicles of the RS1700T were built, which were numbered consecutively from P1 (P for prototype or prototype) to P18. P1 was just a first series Fiesta with parts from an Escort RS1800. P2 and P3 were mock-ups to test the installation of the components and the dimensions of the extensions. P4 was the first ready-to-drive vehicle that still used the powertrain of the Porsche 924 . P5 was an exhibition vehicle and was also shown at the Paris Motor Show in 1982 . The remaining 13 vehicles were both road and race-ready rally vehicles. In P9, the project manager Mick Jones overturned during test drives on a disused airfield at 206 km / h, the damaged vehicle was scrapped.

Received vehicles

Today there are at least four preserved vehicles. One is owned by Malcolm Wilson and is in the M-Sport Museum , one is owned by a collector in the United States, and one vehicle is in the UK where it is being restored.

P18 (according to other sources P7) came back to Great Britain indirectly. It was the only vehicle to win a race. Serge Damseaux won the 1985 Nissan International Rally near Cape Town with him . Malcolm Wilson and Pentti Airikkala also drove the car throughout its eventful history . It was owned for a long time by Simon Nutter, who took part in several national rallies with the escort. After Nutter was sold to the new owner Brian Betteridge, he restored the vehicle with the help of his co-driver Paul Moulson, the engine builder Wayne Mitchell and the former project manager Mick Jones. The vehicle has been used regularly in classic car rallies since 2017.

A fifth vehicle is “maybe, maybe not” in the collection of Ford's development department in Boreham , Essex , and a sixth is said to be in the Ford factory in Saarlouis . However, it is unlikely that there will be other vehicles in these locations. Some Boreham employees are very hostile to the RS1700T. When Simon Nutter visited the development department with his vehicle, an employee told him that he was of the opinion that we had “got rid of them all”. The factory in Saarlouis was not involved in the development of the RS1700T in the early phase of the project, even if it was planned to have the required 200 units built there. Ford Deutschland also keeps prototypes, series vehicles and racing cars in the museum's collection at the main plant in Cologne. Neither from Borehem nor from the museum in Cologne were ever published photos of an RS1700T by visitors, and an RS1700T was also exhibited at corresponding events at which Ford Germany regularly presents several series and racing vehicles from its own collection.

technology

The 18 built vehicles of the RS1700T never got beyond the test stage with a view to racing in the FIA area . Since various concepts were tested in this phase, the vehicles differ in many details. As far as its external appearance is concerned, the “P5” exhibition vehicle was the most advanced and would have gone into series production. The blue RS1700T owned by Malcolm Wilson's M-Sport is similarly equipped. In the technical area - with the exception of the basic concept with a longitudinally installed front engine, transaxle and rear-wheel drive - various solutions were tested. The last vehicle “P18” is considered to be the most technically advanced prototype. However, the vehicle was significantly modified after it was sold by the racing division of Ford South Africa. Since there were completely different regulations for participation in the races there than for the FIA World Rally Championship , it is unclear whether this vehicle reflects what was planned during the development of the RS1700T and what was permitted for admission to the World Rally Championship would.

engine

The engine of the RS1700T is a BDT engine, a turbo-charged version of the BDA engine from Cosworth , as it was already installed as a naturally aspirated engine in the two predecessor vehicles, the Escort RS1600 and Escort RS1800. The turbo engine has a displacement of 1778 cubic centimeters, develops 257 kW (350 hp) and more and has a torque of around 515 Nm. The displacement of the turbo engine remains under 2.5 liters displacement even after multiplication with the turbo factor of 1.4 valid at the time. Depending on the actual or virtual cubic capacity, the FIA ​​specified a minimum weight for the vehicles in Group B, which is why the vehicle manufacturers precisely coordinated cubic capacity and vehicle weight when developing the vehicles.

In addition to the turbo engine, a naturally aspirated engine was also tested as the RS2300 . The 2.3 liter naturally aspirated "420R" engine was derived from Brian Hart's BDA engine from Cosworth. The naturally aspirated engine, which was initially used as a 2-liter engine in Formula 2 , has a displacement of 2290 cubic centimeters, generates around 220 kW (300 hp) and has a torque of around 327 Nm. This engine would also have been suitable for use in the class up to 2.5 liters displacement, but the turbo engine proved to be clearly superior in the test drives.

Both engines have four cylinders, two overhead camshafts , 16 valves and dry sump lubrication . The engine block and cylinder head of the BDT are made of aluminum. The camshafts and the oil pump are each driven by a toothed belt. While the mixture preparation of the Escort RS1800 is still done with double carburetors , both the turbo and naturally aspirated engines of the RS1700T have an injection system. Different systems were used in the test, initially also a K-Jetronic from Bosch, as Ford used it at the time in the production models of the Escort RS1600i , Capri 2.8i and Granada 2.8i . Later, however, the vehicles were equipped with more powerful electronic injection systems. The turbocharger is a T3 from Garrett .

In contrast to the production model of the third series of the Ford Escort, whose engines are always installed transversely, the engine of the RS1700T is installed lengthways, as in the rear-wheel drive Escort of the first two series.

transmission

In order to achieve the best possible weight distribution, the Escort RS1700T was equipped with a transaxle gear. The transmission is not located directly behind the engine, as is usually the case, but in the rear of the car directly in front of the rear axle differential. John Wheeler, who was involved in the development of the Porsche 924 and Porsche 928 transaxle vehicles at Porsche, was hired by Ford for the project. The manually operated five-speed gearbox comes from Hewland .

Suspension and brakes

The suspension of the Ford Escort RS1700T was designed with motorsport in mind. The front subframe with the MacPherson struts and wishbones of the front suspension, the engine mounts and the rack and pinion steering was carried over from the previous model. On the rear axle, the wheel carriers sit on a wheel- guiding suspension strut, a triangular wishbone made of tubular steel and another adjustable link that is also connected to a stabilizer . The front and rear suspension struts of the Escort RS1700T are adjustable and height adjustable.

The fixed caliper brakes from AP to front and rear axles each have four pistons and act on internally ventilated brake discs .

Body and interior

The body was taken over from the third series of the Escort . To make room for the engine and drive train, large parts of the floor pan were removed and modified, and the body was reinforced with a tubular space frame. The front and rear wheel suspensions have also been significantly modified for the installation of other components and the cardan shaft runs in the interior above the tunnel for the exhaust in a specially developed aluminum tube, which is also used for stiffening. Parts of the outer skin were also replaced by components made with Kevlar . Some of the 18 built vehicles of the RS1700T differ significantly in their external appearance. While some look like near-production Escort '81, which were equipped with wheel arch extensions and an adjustable rear spoiler, the P5 exhibition vehicle particularly stands out, which had a different radiator grille, different headlights, modified front and rear aprons and air intakes on the rear wheel arches.

The interior of the vehicles was also based on the series vehicles of the Escort '81, but was modified accordingly for racing.

Technical specifications

Parameters RS1700T RS2300
Displacement 1778 cc 2290 cc
Engine type Cosworth BDT Hard 420R
Cylinder / type Four-cylinder in-line engine (four-stroke)
Valves 16
Valve control DOHC
two overhead camshafts, toothed belt
Maximum power over 257 kW (350 PS) 220 kW (300 PS)
Max. Torque 515 Nm 327 Nm
compression 7.2: 1 unknown
Mixture preparation Injection system, e.g. T. Bosch K-Jetronic
Engine charging Garrett T3 turbocharger -
transmission 5-speed transaxle manual transmission
Front suspension Front axle from the Escort '75 with adjustable and height-adjustable struts
Rear suspension A triangular wishbone and additional, adjustable rod link ,
stabilizer , adjustable and height-adjustable suspension struts
brake Front and rear four-piston fixed
calliper brakes from AP, internally ventilated brake discs with 280 mm ⌀
wheelbase 2395 mm
length 3970 mm
width 1740 mm
height 1385 mm
Empty weight 890-910 kg

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Dennis Foy: RS Fords in color ; Windrow & Greene Ltd., London , ISBN 1-872004-717 , pp. 53-57
  2. ↑ Nissan International Rally 1985 at ewrc-results.com, accessed May 20, 2020
  3. ↑ Scholle All Night Rally 1985 on ewrc-results.com, accessed on May 20, 2020
  4. ↑ a b c Rs1700t. the works rally ford that never was on drivetribe.com, accessed on May 21, 2020
  5. ↑ Brooklands Road Test Books: High Performance Escorts 1985 - 1990 ; Brooklands Books, Cobham , Surrey , United Kingdom , ISBN 1-85520-0856 , pp. 86-88
  6. ↑ Simon Nutter on ewrc-results.com
  7. ↑ Ford Escort RS1700T Evo - 1985 - Gr. Prototype - Brian Betteridge on slowlysideways.com, accessed May 20, 2020
  8. ↑ Classic Cologne visiting the Ford Classic Collection on classic-koeln.de, accessed on May 24, 2020
  9. ↑ Title: Ford Escort RS1800 Rally Giants; Author: Graham Robson; Published by Veloce Publishing Ltd, 2008; ISBN 1845841409 , 9781845841409; P.116
  10. ↑ a b Ford Escort RS1700T at rallygroupbshrine.org, accessed May 21, 2020

literature

Web links

Commons : Ford Escort RS1700T  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files