Ford XR3i
For the Mk3 Escort, styled by Uwe Bahnsen, Ford went front-wheel drive with what would soon be its biggest-selling model, along with a brand-new overhead-cam engine that had cost £500m to develop.
It was crucial to the company’s success, and it worked. But what to do about the high-performance flagship?
Motorsport honours were not the immediate focus, but the market demanded a sporting model, with a new name to avoid comparison with rear-drive RS Escorts.
The designation came from USA, where it had featured on the Mercury Cougar XR-7; the first XR in Europe was the XR3, pitched as a volume-selling sporty variant rather than a limited-run homologation special. That role went to the RS 1600i in 1981, and later the RS Turbo.
The XR3 faced strong opposition in the front-drive hot-hatch market, including Volkswagen’s well-established Golf GTI.
The Car.
Hands up who had a poster of the XR3i on their wall as a kid ? My hand is very much up. What can i say , the XR3i sums up the late 80's for me. I remember staring at a white XR3i parked in a bus station in Glasgow with my dad. I thought all day who would own something so special. I dreamt of that car for years. Now i have one 35 years later. It was worth the wait !
So i bought this from a man called Shaun ( off course) and he loved it but did not have the time to do what he wanted with the car and had lost his indoor parking and wanted to sell it before the winter as ‘ its too nice to leave out’. He was full of Ford stories , members of the Ford club and went out on runs on Sundays with the car etc, proper old school Ford lover. He told me what was wrong and it was all the normal XR3i things like ; Brakes not working , sunroof broken , door cards saggy and ripped , old battered dash , steering wheel old and marked and in need of a good service but he emphasised the brakes saying good luck getting them sorted . He was right about everything , i took the car out and i could not stop and nearly wet myself using all my strength trying to stop the car . All the other stuff needed sorted too so i went to work !! First things first , the brakes and service need done and i will take the door cards and handles off to get sorted . I was thinking of getting new door cards but they are all old and i wanted brand new stitching and foam on the arm rest . Ohh thats going be expensive i was told on Ford forums but it deserves it and i want it to be perfect .. Lets get started and see what i can do.
June 2024
