Ford Escort Mk2 RS2000, Midnight Blue (Richard Hammond's The Smallest Cog)

The RS2000 modelled was first registered on May 10th, 1979, in Leicestershire. It was exported to the Isle of Man on April 16th, 1981, and spent 33 years there, although for some of that period it had a hard life as it was modified for road rallying. In November 2014 it was sold to an enthusiast in Ireland who had a collection of fast Fords. He placed it in a classic car auction in Herefordshire in May 2021, and the current owner, Herefordshire-based TV presenter Richard Hammond, won the bidding. 

Richard’s intention was that it would become a show car for his then fledgeling classic car restoration business, The Smallest Cog. Unsurprisingly given its years as a rally car, Neil Greenhouse and the ‘Cog’ team found it to be in much worse shape than anticipated, especially at the front end, which required a huge amount of Neil’s famously excellent fabrication work. During this process Richard made the curious decision to fit a new tan interior instead of the black the build-plate showed it had been produced with. 

The finished car was shown at Hampton Court Concours to general acclaim, although the tan interior was considered unwise. When Corgi got in touch, Richard decided the car needed to match the model’s factory specifications. With the help of Ford expert Mark Pinnigar, it has now been restored to its original build specification, including the black interior!