HISTORY REVISION

Boreham Motorworks' ‘continumod’ RS is a 1960s Mk1 Escort engineered and manufactured to 21st century standards - and a reimagined RS200 is next

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THE SHADOWY CAR UNDER COVER ON the left is a modern reimagining of the Ford RS200, the mid-engined Group B rally car of the 1980s. The gleaming green Escort Mk1 RS on the right is a reinterpretation of the 1960s original, engineered and manufactured to 2025 standards. Just don't call it a restomod.

Its creators, Boreham Motorworks, describe it as a 'continumod'. Officially licensed by the Ford Motor Company, each from-scratch new-build RS will have a continuation Escort chassis number. The new cars are built to the dimensions of a '60s race-spec Escort RS but will possess a far more rigid structure, be produced to the standards and tolerances of a modern-day mainstream manufacturer, and be homologated for small-series production.

That differentiates the Boreham Escort from cars such as the (excellent) MST Mk1 driven in evo 319, which is a different take on the concept in that it's officially not a Ford Escort but a brand-new car built from brand-new parts, with each car individually approved for road legality.

Only 150 new Escorts will be built, to be sold worldwide. The price of present-day quality, Ford's seal of approval and the chance to buy what promises to be a brand-new, better-than-original Mk1 Escort in 2025 is high: customers will pay £295,000 per car, before personalisation options. Nonetheless, Boreham says sales of the entire scheduled run have been oversubscribed by double the allocation ahead of production starting this autumn.

The RS200, which will be revealed in the autumn, will be less of a replica, more of a spiritual successor, with a modernised design. Further re-engineered, reimagined Ford models are planned to follow.