Overview

Escort RS1800 (Escort MkII): This is a Rally Giant because it was consistently the fastest, most successful and most versatile car in the second half of the 1970s. Developed from the MkI, it was a conventional front engine/rear drive machine, which rallied with 2-litre engines of up to 270bhp. Rally successes were legendary - British (RAC), Safari, Acropolis, Finland (1000 Lakes), Sweden, Portugal, Canada, and many more. The cars won 17 World Rallies between 1975 and 1981. RS1800s won the World Makes Championship in 1979, and were always close to victory, always competitive. Escort drivers like Bjorn Waldegard (1979) and Ari Vatanen (1981) won the World Drivers' Championships. Over the years hundreds - and this is no exaggeration - of RS1800s were built for motor sport, and were the ideal car for almost any condition in the world because they were very powerful, but simple and rugged. The RS1800 was also the layout template which was copied by other manufacturers for cars like the Talbot Sunbeam-Lotus, the Vauxhall Chevette HSR and the Nissan GTs of the late 1970s/early 1980s, which were really all Escort 'clones'. Ford claims, and it may be right, that RS1800s have won more rallies, at World, International and National level than any other car in the world.

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9781845841409

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Reviews

New Zealand Classic Car, January 2009<br> NZ magazine <br> The very productive Robson continues his enjoyable 'Rally Giants' series with these latest offerings on two of the iconic rally cars from the last 30 years. Both titles are in the same, now familiar format: 128-page soft cover books with plenty of fine photos. But the cars themselves certainly are very different: it's easy to forget the impact the quattro had when it was introduced, while the Escort started off looking like a pretty standard family car! The two models didn't quite coincide on the world rally scene as the Escort's days at the top ran from 1975-'81, while the quattro was one of the top dogs from 1981-'86. But they won rallies and titles aplenty, and it's fascinating to follow their rallying exploits. Both books chart the development of the cars; their drivers, from Clark and Vatanen to Mikkola and Blomqvist, plus all the others behind their many successes; the competition they faced, and lovely little snippets like registration numbers and the occasional blind alley.<br> - Speedscene, October 2008<br> The magazine of the Hillclimb and Sprint Association <br> The industrious Graham Robson's book on the Peugeot 205 T16 was reviewed in Speedscene 146 and here are two more in the on-going series of Veloce's 'Rally Giants' series. Equally informative, as one would expect from the author with such a worldwide reputation as a motoring historian- fueled by his parallel career as a competitor, team manager, organizer, reporter and commentator (not to mention National Motor Club Quiz chairman, as this reviewer remembers, having been on the HSA's losing semi-final team in a Ford-sponsored series some years ago!) -these books cover the development and competition careers of two iconic rallying legends of the seventies and eighties. The Cosworth 16-valve BD engined Mk2 Escorts were arguably the most consistently versatile and successful rally car of all in the second half of the seventies, while the Audi Quattro was the first 300bhp plus World Rally car and the first to combine 4WD with a turbocharged engine, which brought new standards to the sport in the early years of the eighties. Their histories have been documented before, but Robson's compact and informative series or Veloce provides an ideal reference.

New Zealand Classic Car, January 2009NZ magazineThe very productive Robson continues his enjoyable 'Rally Giants' series with these latest offerings on two of the iconic rally cars from the last 30 years. Both titles are in the same, now familiar format: 128-page soft cover books with plenty of fine photos. But the cars themselves certainly are very different: it's easy to forget the impact the quattro had when it was introduced, while the Escort started off looking like a pretty standard family car! The two models didn't quite coincide on the world rally scene as the Escort's days at the top ran from 1975-'81, while the quattro was one of the top dogs from 1981-'86. But they won rallies and titles aplenty, and it's fascinating to follow their rallying exploits. Both books chart the development of the cars; their drivers, from Clark and Vatanen to Mikkola and Blomqvist, plus all the others behind their many successes; the competition they faced, and lovely little snippets like registration numbers and the occasional blind alley.-Speedscene, October 2008The magazine of the Hillclimb and Sprint AssociationThe industrious Graham Robson's book on the Peugeot 205 T16 was reviewed in Speedscene 146 and here are two more in the on-going series of Veloce's 'Rally Giants' series. Equally informative, as one would expect from the author with such a worldwide reputation as a motoring historian- fueled by his parallel career as a competitor, team manager, organizer, reporter and commentator (not to mention National Motor Club Quiz chairman, as this reviewer remembers, having been on the HSA's losing semi-final team in a Ford-sponsored series some years ago!) - these books cover the development and competition careers of two iconic rallying legends of the seventies and eighties. The Cosworth 16-valve BD engined Mk2 Escorts were arguably the most consistently versatile and successful rally car of all in the second half of the seventies, while the Audi Quattro was the first 300bhp

Author Information

Graham Robson possesses a worldwide reputation as a motoring historian, and has been close to the sport of rallying for many years, as a competitor, team manager, organiser, reporter, commentator and observer; in more than forty years he has never lost touch with the sport. Not only has Graham competed in many British and European events, he's also reported on marathons in South America, and acted as a travelling controller in the legendary London-Mexico World Cup Rally. As a recognised authority on many aspects of classic cars and motoring of that period, he is the most prolific of all authors, with more than 130 published books to his credit. Over the years Graham has owned, driven, described and competed in many of the cars featured in the Rally Giants Series, and his insight to their merits is unmatched.

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