This Ford Escort RS2000 auction result is another reminder that enthusiasm for a good fast Ford shows little sign of disappearing.
The white 1979 Escort RS Custom certainly made its presence known when it went under the hammer at Anglia Car Auctions.
Sitting immediately in front of the rostrum, it was popping and banging away while bidders decided just how badly they wanted it.
And one bidder in the room clearly wanted it rather badly.
This wasn’t just any Mk2 Escort.
The 1979 car is an RS2000 in Custom specification, bringing some extra touches including bronze-tinted glass, Custom badging, a quartz clock and those wonderfully period brown Recaro seats.
There’s also a sliding roof, while the original dealer sticker remains in the rear window.
Under the bonnet is Ford’s 1993cc Pinto engine, although this particular example isn’t entirely standard.
Recent Weber 40 DCOE carburettors have been fitted, along with wrapped manifolds.
And judging by the soundtrack it provided in the auction hall, it certainly wasn’t shy about announcing its presence.
Anglia Car Auctions described the Escort as being in smart condition inside and out.
The vendor called it a “good useable vehicle” that had been “very well maintained”.
Its odometer showed 80,925 miles, while the history file included a large collection of parts receipts, mostly from the last couple of years, together with some earlier paperwork from 2017 and 2018.
The V5C was present and recorded nine former keepers.
Its most recent MoT had also expired in July without any advisories, although the Escort is now old enough to qualify for historic vehicle MoT exemption.
ACA placed an estimate of £24,000 to £28,000 on the Escort.
That’s serious money for an old Ford, but RS Escorts haven’t exactly been ordinary old Fords for a very long time.
The Mk2 RS2000 has become one of those cars that seems capable of attracting an audience almost anywhere.
Some remember them from when they were affordable performance cars.
Others grew up wanting one.
And there’s now another generation of enthusiasts who simply love the whole fast-Ford scene.
Put a good Mk2 RS2000 in front of a room full of classic-car buyers and things can get interesting rather quickly.
That’s exactly what happened here.
There was interest elsewhere, but one bidder standing in the auction hall kept coming back.
Another bid.
Then another.
All the while, the Escort was sitting there in front of him, making all the right noises.
There’s something rather different about bidding for a car online and bidding while the thing itself is sitting just a few yards away, popping and banging at you.
Would he get it?
Watch the bidding before reading on:
Eventually, the competition ran out.
The determined bidder in the room had won.
The hammer fell at £25,000.
With buyer’s premium added, Anglia Car Auctions records the final result as £27,000.
That put the RS2000 comfortably inside its £24,000 to £28,000 pre-auction estimate.
Not a wild result above guide. Not a bargain below it.
Instead, the bidders effectively landed right where ACA thought the market was for this particular car.
We’ve seen it time and again.
Put the right blue oval through an auction and people pay attention.
Escorts in particular seem to have an extraordinary ability to bring out enthusiasm – whether it’s a humble survivor, an interesting project or something from the RS family.
And with an RS2000 like this, there’s an added ingredient.
It isn’t simply about investment value or originality.
These were cars people lusted after, modified, rallied, raced and enjoyed.
The noise matters.
The look matters.
And for many buyers, the memories matter too.
That’s difficult to put into a valuation spreadsheet, but you can certainly see it when two people decide they both want the same car.
The winning bidder certainly wasn’t hiding behind a computer screen.
He stood in the room, kept his hand in the air and eventually got the RS2000 he had clearly set his sights on.
At £25,000 before fees, do you think he got it right?
Or would you have bowed out earlier?
One thing seems fairly certain.
People really do love a fast Ford.
You can see the original auction listing and photographs on the Anglia Car Auctions website:
https://angliacarauctions.co.uk/auctions/2774-22-Aug-2026/15651~2-1979-ford-escort-rs-custom
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