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The Double Up Ford Escort

If you enjoyed my main event coverage from Malaysia’s Art of Speed show, that’s a good thing. It’s good because I haven’t even shown you my favourite picks from the event yet – I’ve selfishly kept them to myself, but only because I wanted to share them with you in far more detail.

To get the ball rolling let’s take a look at this Fast And Furious 6 inspired Ford Escort Mk1, which as you have probably seen in the opening shot, has given up its factory-spec four banger for something with double the cylinders.

Even the paint scheme isn’t enough to keep your eyes from automatically peering into the engine bay and finding something way too Japanese looking to be powering an old Escort.

The Toyota 1UZ-FE quad cam V8 fills up the space under the bonnet rather well, and with no apparent fitting issues. Even the stock intake plenum and plastic engine cover are retained.

It actually looks tighter than it really is, and both exhaust manifolds still have room to spare from hitting the chassis. Perhaps enough space for a future twin turbo setup?

The exterior of the Escort has been beefed-up with some flared arches front and rear, and classic 8-spoke style wheels running Hankook Ventus TD semi slicks at the front and some radials at the rear. Sounds like a bit of a drift setup, doesn’t it?

The same two-tone colouring scheme has been carried over into the interior, brightening things up quite a lot. But it isn’t the white seats, nor the leather work on the dashboard that grabs your attention – it’s what’s sprouting out of the transmission tunnel.

I’m still rather confused as to why the 1UZ was dropped into the car along with its Celsior-spec 4-speed automatic. It seems to go against the whole feel of a lightweight ’70s rear-wheel drive car, but that’s also what makes it unique I guess.

It all makes for one of the most memorable MK1s I’ve ever come across – albeit confusing due to the transmission choice. But maybe the owner just wanted to build a cruiser with decent levels of torque to play with. What do you guys think?

BY Dino Dalle Carbonare

24H du Mans : La 25e heure…/ 25 hours and more…

Le Mans, Daytona, Spa, Nürburgring, Dubai… Mais pourquoi les plus grandes courses d’Endurance au monde durent 24 heures ? Pourquoi 24 et pas 25, 30 ou 48 ? Pourquoi un double « tour d’horloge » et pas un triple ou un quadruple ?

Certains en ont eu l’idée, bien sûr. Depuis 1999, le circuit de Spa-Francorchamps accueille les 25 Heures VW Fun Cup. D’années en années, cette course organisée par Kronos Event est devenue un événement très populaire et familial.

Les 11 et 12 juillet prochains, 120 Be Kox sont attendues au départ à 17h30. En 2014, 40 nationalités étaient représentées et c’est la « Coccinelle » Allure Team 2 qui s’est imposée après 413 tours bouclés à la moyenne de 115 km/h.

De l’autre côté de l’Atlantique, la National Auto Sport Association organise depuis 2002 – année de sortie du film « La 25^e heure » - les 25 Heures de Thunderhill, en Californie. C’est la plus longue course automobile américaine, devant les 24 Heures de Daytona ! Forcément…

L’an passé, le départ a été donné à 11h00 et après 25 heures de course et 682 tours de circuit (3 miles) bouclés, c’est un prototype Norma M20F BMW (Frisselle/Pobst/Llyod/Marcelli) qui s’est imposé devant une Porsche 997 GT3 Cup.

En Europe, la Maxi Endurance 48 avait été programmée sur le circuit de Navarra, en Espagne fin 2013. L’épreuve a finalement été annulée et fut remplacée en 2014 par la Maxi Endurance 32 à Portimao (Portugal) mi-décembre. Le départ a été donné samedi à 9h00. Le lendemain, à 17h00, la Seat Leon Cup/Michelin de Formula Racing a coupé la ligne d’arrivée en tête après 773 tours et 32 heures de course (dont 30 sous la pluie). Cette année, la 2^e édition se déroulera les 20/22 novembre.

Toujours plus long. En Arabie Saoudite, sur le circuit Al Reem de Ryad, le départ de la Regional 48H Endurance Race a été donné dimanche 1^er mars à 9h00. Mardi 3 mars au matin, c’est une Nissan Altimat qui a été déclarée vainqueur avec 4323 km parcourus.

Pour préparer les 24 Heures du Mans, les top-teams ont pris l’habitude d’effectuer des séances d’essais de 30 heures. Porsche Team en a planifié quatre cette année, dont la dernière après les 6 Heures de Spa sur le circuit de Motorland Aragon.

There are modern 24-hour races at Le Mans, Daytona, Spa, Nürburgring and Dubai, but why are the sport’s major long-distance races restricted to just twice round the clock? Why not 25, 30 or 48 hours? 

Naturally, some organisers have had the idea of exceeding 24 hours. Since 1999, Spa-Francorchamps has hosted the 25 Hours VW Fun Cup, for example. The Belgian fixture has gone from strength to strength and is extremely popular as a family event.

The next one is on July 11-12 and 120 Beetles are expected for the 5:30pm start. The 2014 race attracted participants from different 40 nationalities and the winning Allure Team 2 car completed 413 laps at an average speed of 115kph.

In California, the National Auto Sport Association has organised the Thunderhill 25 Hours since 2002, the year the film ‘25^th Hour’ was released. It’s the USA’s longest race and is obviously an hour longer than the 24 Hours of Daytona!

Last year, the winning Norma M20F BMW prototype of Frisselle/Pobst/Llyod/Marcelli completed 682 laps of the three-mile course. A Porsche 997 GT3 Cup was second.

In Europe, a race called Maxi Endurance 48 was scheduled to take place at Navarra, Spain, at the end of 2013. The idea was finally dropped, but the Maxi Endurance 32 was organised at Portimao, Portugal, last December. The race started at 9am on the Saturday and, at 5pm the next day, Formula Racing’s Seat Leon Cup/Michelin was first past the flag after 773 laps. Thirty of the 32 hours were marked by wet conditions. The second edition will be held this year on November 20-22.

Even longer was Saudi Arabia’s recent Regional 48H Endurance Race at Al Reem de Ryad. It kicked off at 9am on Tuesday, March 1, and ended on the morning of Tuesday, March 3. The win went to a Nissan Altimat after 4,323km.

As part of their annual build-up to Le Mans, it is now customary for the leading teams to organise 30-hour simulation tests. Porsche Team ran 4 such tests this year, the last of which was at Motorland Aragon, Spain, in May.

A glorious gathering at the 2015 Wilton Classic & Supercar

The 16th Century Wilton House and its majestic grounds proved the perfect environment in which to enjoy Lord Pembroke's annual automotive extravaganza. And the sun even shone...

This year’s event was split over two days for the first time, with Saturday focused on classics, and Sunday dedicated to contemporary supercars. The wonderfully astute Lord Pembroke’s vision for the event, held annually since 2008, is obvious – to exhibit an impossibly diverse range of classic and supercars (reflecting his own automotive tastes and interests) in a relaxed and picturesque environment, in a bid to inspire old and young audiences alike. 

Lavish lawns

Wandering around the immaculately presented grounds of Wilton House, jazz playing in the distance, we were struck by both the sheer variety of vehicles and the extremely high (occasionally concours) standard at which many were presented. As an official media partner, we had the unenviable job of awarding the ‘Best Classic in Show’ trophy, a decision made particularly difficult thanks to the high number of worthy cars on show. Though after hearing its story from the owner, we simply had to give it to the fabulous, dark green 1967 Iso Grifo. 

A gentler pace

With sparsely populated lawns, we were afforded plenty of time to pore over our favourite exhibits, virtually uninterrupted. From the captivating patina of Corrado Lopresto’s Alfa Romeo SZ ‘Coda Tronca’ prototype, making its first European appearance since it was rediscovered in the U.S.A. last year, to a charming little Austin 7, complete with a trailered miniature pedal car that the owner built for his children in the 1980s... and then electrified for his grandchildren in the Noughties. 

Something for everyone

Other highlights included a recreation of that crash from the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, a refreshingly well-used Porsche 2.7 Carrera RS, a Le Mans-finishing McLaren F1 GTR, and one of the best re-assembled Bugatti 73Cs in existence (gathered as part of one of the biggest collections of post- and pre-War Bugattis ever assembled – a spectacular sight indeed). Two Zagato-bodied cars also took our eye: a beautiful Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 MM Spyder, one of Vittorio Jano's finest designs, and the striking Ferrari 250 GT (which, incidentally, is currently for sale in the Classic Driver Market) – a car which epitomises the 1960s Zagato Grand Tourer.  

Photos: Amy Shore for Classic Driver © 2015

Classic Driver is the proud media partner of the 2015 Wilton House Classic & Supercar. You can find more coverage of the event elsewhere on Classic Driver.