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[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Nonsense. Escorts handled infinitely better than Capris. Probably because of the wheelbase and the long nose on the Capri.
Presumably thats why Ford rallied them very successfully indeed, and didnt bother trying to rally the Capri.
……….

They did actually Rally the MK1 Capri.    Roger Clark drove one in Rally Cross events. The later models were more likely to be seen on the tarmac tracks, the equivalent of saloon car racing I guess. The Escort was obviously better suited to the Rally Circuit, hence the success. 

 I seem to to remember that it was a special 4 wheel drive version.

Could well be wrong though.

[YZ250]

Nonsense. Escorts handled infinitely better than Capris. Probably because of the wheelbase and the long nose on the Capri.
Presumably thats why Ford rallied them very successfully indeed, and didnt bother trying to rally the Capri.
……….

They did actually Rally the MK1 Capri.    Roger Clark drove one in Rally Cross events. The later models were more likely to be seen on the tarmac tracks, the equivalent of saloon car racing I guess. The Escort was obviously better suited to the Rally Circuit, hence the success. 

 I seem to to remember that it was a special 4 wheel drive version.

Could well be wrong though.

You remember well, you are correct. 

[STEMO]

Nonsense. Escorts handled infinitely better than Capris. Probably because of the wheelbase and the long nose on the Capri.
Presumably thats why Ford rallied them very successfully indeed, and didnt bother trying to rally the Capri.
……….

They did actually Rally the MK1 Capri.    Roger Clark drove one in Rally Cross events. The later models were more likely to be seen on the tarmac tracks, the equivalent of saloon car racing I guess. The Escort was obviously better suited to the Rally Circuit, hence the success. 

 I seem to to remember that it was a special 4 wheel drive version.

Could well be wrong though.

I don't think the rally versions of any car bore much resemblance to road going models.

[ronnyd]

Why do you like them ? Have you driven one ?
They were a pretend sporty car for posers who didnt know any better. If they had they would have bought a sporty Escort with its excellent handling.

I owned a very old 1600XL from 1974 which cost £200.

It drove like a lorry but it looked good in white with a BVR. >

Black Vinyl Roof. 

Thanks YZ. Should have thought it through. Christ, i even had a Mk1 Grannie with a BVR. 

[Nick W]

Nonsense. Escorts handled infinitely better than Capris. Probably because of the wheelbase and the long nose on the Capri.
Presumably thats why Ford rallied them very successfully indeed, and didnt bother trying to rally the Capri.
I was using Sporty as a generic term that people tended to use about cars with sporting images/ pretensions, or sometimes genuine characteristics.
Why would I be worried / scared about driving a Mustang ? Poor handling ?

We never found much difference in the straight line or across the ground performance between Escorts and Capris with the same 4 cylinder engines. And we had lots of both. A 2.0l Capri is still perfectly viable as an every day car if you're prepared to spend the £6 or £7k necessary to buy one. V6 Capris were noticeably quicker but were less forgiving when driven hard. Mike's V8 Escort was a very different matter.


I've no idea why you would be worried or scared about driving a Mustang. But if you think a Capri is worse than an Escort, you'd be even more disappointed than I was. That includes Mustangs right up to the generation before current - my 2.8i Capri had the same performance, better economy and better ride/handling than the boss' 05 4.6. Took up less space on the road too, which is important on country roads.