UK: Ford Escort is coming back - and it won't be electric

It will be inspired by the Mk1 and will have a petrol engine and manual gearbox. Debut scheduled for 12 December

By: Massimo Grassi

Dec 3, 2024 at 9:03am ET

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Mark this date in your diary: 12 December 2024. In just under two weeks, the new Ford Escort will be unveiled although it will not be a real Ford. It will in fact be assembled by Boreham Motorworks, a small British company that has just signed an agreement with the US manufacturer.

The agreement announced some time ago will bring some of the Blue Oval's most iconic models back to life, as completely new models and not as restomods starting with the Escort Mk1. In the meantime, here are the first teaser images.

The past never dies

What will be unveiled on 12 December will to all intents and purposes be a new Ford Escort, faithful in form and philosophy to the first generation of the compact US car. So faithful, in fact, that it will take up the chassis numbers, starting the sequence where the original ended. So no, as mentioned, this will not be yet another restomod based on elaborate and transformed donor cars. This will all be done with the approval of Ford itself.

Coming to the specs of the car, we know for now that it will follow the layout of the first generation Escort, taking its style and mechanical layout. So no electric motor but a petrol engine placed under the front bonnet, mated to a manual gearbox. We don't know its power or performance, but it shouldn't be particularly extreme. This is also because the British engineers did not want to create a track car, but a road car, dedicated to all enthusiasts.

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However, don't expect a model ready to crowd dealerships across Europe. The new Ford Escort will in fact be produced in a limited run, with prices that are hardly popular.

The best is yet to come

The agreement between Boreham Motorworks and Ford will not end with the (re)birth of the Escort. In fact, a total of five models are planned, all of them new, produced in continuity with their ancestors. These also include the Ford RS200 Group B, the unfortunate rally coupé produced from 1984 to 1986.