VA12623 Ford Escort Mk2 1300 Sport, Jupiter Red

Another iconic Ford Escort for your Vanguards collection, but this Mk2 1300 Sport model is in a stunning shade of Jupiter Red. Based on a car that is currently undergoing restoration, our die-cast model shows how it will look when complete. If your collection is missing this type of car, you need to add this 1:43 scale version now.

This die-cast model is a limited edition of 1,200.

History

The 1300 Sport modelled here was built at Ford’s plant at Halewood, Merseyside, before being registered on 12th October 1977 by Skelly Ford, Liverpool. They used it as a demonstration car, as it was finished in the attractive but unusual colour combination of Jupiter Red with silver 1300 Sport graphics over black and grey Cadiz fabric interior trim. 

It was purchased shortly after by local man Keith Echlin for his wife Mary, who called it ‘Betsy’ and enjoyed driving it. When she offered it for sale in a local newspaper in June 1989, it was still in good condition, having covered only 42,000 miles, and was purchased by local 18-year-old Ford enthusiast Charlie Powell. 

Charlie used the car for almost a year before his Mum damaged the front wing slightly in a supermarket car park, and it ended up in his parents’ garage awaiting work for a new MOT. That never quite happened, however, as other Ford projects and general life took over. 

On 8th September 2022, Charlie and his son Joe, who was then 15 and has inherited his dad’s passion for Fords, exhumed it to assess its condition. The pair then displayed it, unrestored, in the Barn Finds exhibition at the Practical Classics Classic Car and Restoration Show at the Birmingham NEC in March 2024. 

The father and son team have now started restoring this rare survivor to its original condition and specification.