I stand in the shadow of a swishing wind turbine, its vast blades arcing through the harsh winds of a bitter winter morning. Icy rain lashes my eyes as I attempt to envelop my face in the fug of sweet-smelling steam from the hot tea in a chipped, Ford-branded mug. This vivifying beverage is all that stands between me and FEV 1H, one of the most significant and iconic Escorts in the marque’s illustrious competition history. And yet I take my time, savouring the brew. I need to steel my nerves, just for a minute or two.
So why is this car so significant, so intimidating? Well, in many ways this is Escort. The car that proved Boreham’s worth on a global scale, that spawned the Escort Mexico name, that turned a gruelling and seemingly impossible event into a total Ford whitewash. This very car, on its maiden motorsport outing, covered 16,000 miles of largely inhospitable terrain across numerous continents, skimming ground that resembled the surface of the moon with casual aplomb. This, in short, is something veryindeed. And it’s important that I use this sugary tea to cushion my system and stop my hands from shaking. You know, so I don’t break the thing.
