The producers of Universal’s Fast & Furious franchise always look for ways to widen their global audience. To reach fans in the United Kingdom and Europe in general, 2013’s Fast and Furious 6 featured both a Mark I 1972 Ford Escort RS1600 as Brian O’Conner’s ride and a pimped Jensen Interceptor driven by Mrs. Toretto. Now, former production technical advisor Craig Lieberman is here to tell us all about the fate of the classic lightweight British rally legends that literally jumped the bridge during production.
Since the Escort badge only made it to the U.S. market on front-wheel-drive econoboxes, the stunt cars that would be turned into 1972 RS1600 replicas had to be sourced and built in Britain. Five blue Escorts were assembled, some packing 2.0-liter Vauxhall Redtop engines from Opel, while others had the correct 1.6-liter Ford Kents featuring the DOHC Cosworth heads and double Weber carbs for the closeup shots.
GM Family II four-cylinder designed by Opel in 1979.
Stripped and fully built for the action, two of the stunt Escorts were used for the infamous jump which was shot from multiple angles on either Tenerife or Gran Canaria of Spain’s Canary Islands. Unfortunately, one of these cars landed on its roof and got completely destroyed, while the other left completely twisted, only to stay in storage as a wreck for years to come.
Having then been purchased by a collector, this hero Escort went through a complete restoration costing the rough equivalent of $90,000 in British pounds. It’s now boasting a rebuilt engine using Kent Cams, a four-speed straight-cut Quaife gearbox with a limited-slip from 3J Driveline, a 2.4-ratio steering rack, adjustable coilovers, two-piece halfshafts, an SBD Motorsport ECU and wiring loom, an FIA-spec roll cage, Hella spotlamps, 13-inch JBW Minilight wheels and a whole lot more.
The 1972 Escort that saved Brian O’Conner’s butt in 2013 sold once again for over $100,000 this March. There may be more of the original five Fast and Furious 6 Escorts out there, but this jump survivor remains the most desirable. Meanwhile, to continue with the British theme, the upcoming Fast 9 will feature a Noble M600 supercar, driven by Helen Mirren, aka Magdalene Shaw.
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