Driving Ambition

A go-fast Escort was always John Dennis’s goal, but the turbo street/track weapon he ended up with is a genre-busting masterpiece

- Iain Kelly

Ford’s Mark 1 Escort is a legend of motorsport across rallying, touring cars and even drag racing, thanks to its tiny size, generous engine bay and rear-drive layout. As a fan of four-banger Fords from a tender age, John Dennis knew this all too well, but it took him a while to get around to building the righteous turbo pro touring Esky you see on the pages before you. “I’ve been a small-Ford guy since I was a kid,” says the

Sydneysider. “Years ago my uncle had a Ford Squire van with a GT Cortina motor in it, and we used to play in that as kids. I had always wanted a Mk1 Escort, but my first car was a two-door Cortina. I was too young and didn’t have the funds to build it, so it got sold off. I didn’t get a Mk1 until I got older and I had some extra money to play with.”

It was a mate of John’s who spotted this particular Escort several years ago, sitting in the front window of a car yard on Parramatta Road. Johnno wasted no time in whipping down there to do the deal.