Growing up in two different generations of Ford Escort here in the States and learning to equate that nameplate with boring commuter car (and a seriously wicked car accident I was involved in as a tot) always leaves me baffled when I see some screaming little European monster as it buzz-saws around a track with that name attached to it. I actively force myself to remember that not every Escort sold in Europe had 300 horsepower and could hit a rally or a road course at the drop of a hat. In most cases, they were very pedestrian cars, common vehicles that just so happened to have a four-cylinder that could be messed with, a connection to Cosworth in some models, and in the form of the cars modified by German racing team Zakspeed, a heroic form. Picture the Chevrolet Monzas of IMSA versus a typical Monza on the lot and you’ll have the idea.
So a rear-drive Escort can rip. We’ve shown you plenty of footage of these flingable little rockets in action. But to properly hear one, to listen as the four-cylinder winds up tighter than a drum, is something else. The car you are seeing is a recreation, as the only original Zakspeed Group 5 Escort left in the world is in New Zealand, but that doesn’t make it any less purposeful. In fact, it’s so good that by the time you read this, it should be on-track at Kylami in South Africa for the WesBank Festival of Motoring from August 30th to September 2nd, 2018.
