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CDA
July 13, 2023
The late rally driver Colin McRae built a racing Ford Escort to his liking that is now up for auction,
Colin McRae has been one of the great drivers in rally history. The Scotsman, who sadly died in 2007 in a helicopter accident, was known for being world champion in 1995 (being the youngest to achieve it) and runner-up in 1996, 1997 and 2001, but above all for being one of the most spectacular and charismatic pilots of his time.
Aside from his work as a driver, McRae also excelled as a mechanic. He worked well with the engineers and knew how to fine-tune a car and its mechanical limitations. Now, the auction house Silverstone Auctions puts up for sale a very special car in the career of the Scottish driver.
Made to McRae’s taste
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For some time, McRae had been thinking of building a Ford Escort MkII really special, the fastest rally Escort ever built. In Colin’s own words: «The Mk II is the rally car of all time. When my father started rallying, these were the kind of rear-wheel drive cars that were at the top level of the sport. I remember him seeing them in the woods and they always sounded the best and looked the most spectacular, from the side. They have stuck with me ever since.”
Thus, in 2002 McRae made the decision to launch the project to build it and contacted the specialist DJM. “In late 2002 our colleague and friend Gordon Birtwistle of Proflex UK Ltd. asked if we could converting an Escort Mk II to an independent rear suspension vehicle instead of the conventional axis, for a very special client, the great Colin McRae”, explains Dave Plant, CEO of DJM.
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“The donor car was supplied to us at the beginning of 2003 and after numerous phone conversations with Colin, the project began. The original specification was for a gravel rally car with ultra-long wheel travel. With fully independent front and rear suspension to our own design and using our own aluminum struts, topped off with a T45 roll cage to withstand the modifications.”
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After a few months of work, McRae took the car you see in the photos, powered by a 2.5-liter gasoline engine that yields a whopping 330 hp, while only weighing 930kg, giving it excellent handling and agility. McRae can attest to the fact that he drove it regularly until months before his death in 2007.
The Silverstone Auctions auction will take place on August 25 and 26 and its estimated price is between 146,000 and 175,000 euros.
