Expect to hear plenty more about Boreham Motorworks over the coming years. We’ve seen the Mk1 RS Escort already, and there’s the RS200 coming along as well, and just think of the fast Ford heritage that exists to mine over time - with Blue Oval backing, don’t forget. Bring on a few more Cossies as soon as possible…
For now, there’s this stunner: the Alan Mann 68 Edition. It’s a toolroom continuation of the original bubble-arched Escort, the car that was so successful in British tin tops at the end of the '60s. Alan Mann had become such a notable race car builder back then that Ford actually gave him bodyshells ahead of the launch to construct the touring car. Because they were built to Group 5 spec, wide tyres could be fitted (up to 10 inches at the rear, in fact), so wider arches were required to fit. Little did they know in Byfleet back then that an icon was being born.
Just half a dozen red and gold rockets were built in the Alan Mann glory days; handily, the race team (now run by his son, Henry) still has AMR4, reg XOO 349F, as a reference to reverse engineer this one. The keen may well have guessed where the recent announcement about Alan Mann being absorbed into the wider Boreham Motorworks group started. That car, chassis BB48HR39279, was disassembled, scanned, created in CAD, and then used to provide the best template possible for 24 new track cars. That provenance helps with getting the FIA Historical Passport, too. Two variants will be offered, either Period Correct - ‘a true collector’s item’, and exactly as AMR4 is - or Modern Race, complete with some safety gear and the HTP for competition across the globe. Production begins next month, with deliveries taking place from Q3 of this year.
Alan Mann Racing will be on hand for those who want to race, from novices to experienced historic racers, through the Boreham High Performance Club. Whatever customers want to do with these cars, having spent £300,000, the Boreham Motorworks universe will seek to accommodate. These are Ultra Series cars from the brand, whereas the Mk1 RS and RS200 are ‘Collector Series’, with a Race Series to sit in between. Cars like the Alan Mann 68 Editions are said to represent ‘the pinnacle of historical accuracy, with blueprint-precise recreations built to period specifications… ensuring an unfiltered connection to motorsport heritage.’ Easy to understand why the order book is said to be well subscribed already.
The spec is to die for, of course. Those six chassis Alan Mann was given by Ford to make into racers were worked on by Len Bailey, a chassis engineer who’d been central to the GT40 programme. So he took the lessons learned there into the Escort, with an inverted outer track control arm mounting, compression strut to body mount, and upper MacPherson strut bearing mount among other mods. These were fabricated by a guy called Jim Rose, who - incredibly enough - is involved with this project as well. There are Koni dampers, Dunlop tyres, Girling brakes, and flow-formed 13-inch aluminum wheels. CTO of the DRVN Automotive Group (of which Boreham Motorworks is a part), Simon Goodliff, says there are “lots of nuances” to the Alan Mann cars that aren’t always picked up on because of how many fast Escorts followed, describing the front end as “basically a GT40 parts bin.” There are lots of changes, and actually quite a different look to the front end - wheels really pushed out - to accommodate the unique setup when compared to other racy Escorts. “You would not believe the amount of effort we’ve put in”, adds Simon, who made the switch to Boreham recently after almost four decades with Ford.
It goes without saying that the 68 Edition looks perfect. From the sponsor decals to the headlight tape, this is better than could probably have been imagined, almost like AI has created a Mk1 Escort from all the best bits it could find and it’s now here, ready to drive. Guess that’s what happens when such a successful period race car is made once more using the best modern practices. It’s easy to see why some customers, sacrilegious though it might sound, might just have one to look at and admire. You could spend an hour just on the details; an engine bay that’s an ode to internal combustion - complete with ‘A Ford product, Made in England’ plaque - to a beautiful set of Smiths dials with the tacho’s red smudge at just over 8,000rpm. Even for those of us too young to remember new rear-drive Escorts, but who’ve become smitten watching them as historics, it's absorbing to the point of arousal.
A Twin Cam still provides the power, with capacity at 1.8 litres and power rated at 205hp. Made at 8,000rpm, excitingly. The gearbox is a four-speed Ford bullet manual. Even watching from the side of M-Sport’s test track in Cumbria is enough to get the blood pumping a little faster, the unmistakable carb gurgle as the Escort romps towards you then traded for a raucous exhaust bark as it screams on by. Despite a silencer for the noise limit, this thing sounds as good as it looks.
A passenger ride only further ramps up the anticipation, the engine thirsty for revs, braking power obviously substantial and the obscenely dished wheel only straight when absolutely necessary. The initial reality of driving a 68 Edition, however, brings that eagerness crashing down spectacularly. Only through user error, it should be added; we’re spoiled these days by cars that look old but drive in a very contemporary fashion, complete with co-operative clutches, gearboxes from MX-5s, and modern fuelling. The Escort might be a brand-new build, though of course it’s to 1968 spec - and the car feels every inch of it to a big southern softie who’s never driven a Ford older than a Brooklands Capri.
The start labours because I forget to give the throttle a tickle; the poor thing stalls not once but twice thanks to a left foot that doesn’t normally require such sensitivity. Simon has said the steering is heavy because of the castor (he’s not wrong), and the car is more suited to fast circuits - “once you get it flowing, it’s absolutely incredible” - than M-Sport’s tight and twisty facility. So initially, the Escort is really, really hard work, feet fumbling across pedals, shift long and vague across the gate, steering heft inescapable, and twin-cam snort drowned out by transmission and diff shriek.
Truth be told, I returned hugely disheartened having wanted to drive a rear-wheel-drive Escort for decades. Having thought I could deal with cars requiring a bit of effort, the awakening had been rude to say the least. Another passenger ride, just to see if there was a car issue, only made the situation worse - it was running perfectly. I just wasn’t driving it properly. And that felt terrible.
On the other hand, it makes something like the Edition 68 - in a world of daily-driven restomods and modern supercars with incredible assists - an irresistible challenge. Because it’s not hard work for the masochistic sake of it; this is just how touring cars used to be, and this is a continuation of that era. Time machines come no more authentic than this one. So best get used to it.
And so it proves. Sort of. Trainers off makes for a better relationship with the pedals, and a bit more freedom to blip downshifts; less hurry and more thought with both clutch and lever makes for much sweeter shifts; and an engine that makes peak power 250rpm from the redline wants revs, all the time. So best give it some. The Escort isn’t a car to drive without consideration - because of the gearbox, chiefly - but it is one that rewards a certain level of commitment. ‘Tis a race car, after all. Be positive with pedal, steering, and shift inputs, and the Escort comes alive, shedding that initial reluctance and obstinance to become, with your encouragement, ruddy brilliant.
Because it weighs so little, there’s always braking and turn-in grip to spare; sensations fizz through your arms during every stage of a corner. The engine that feels like it might stall below 3,000rpm soars past 6,000rpm, revving with glorious abandon. When the gear changes go right, it’s as satisfying as solving a Rubik's Cube, even if it feels like it might have taken the same level of time and effort. Such is the torrent of feedback that the oversteer, when it arrives, feels like the most natural thing in the world; a car that seemed so intimidating at low speed couldn’t seem more benign with revs up and rear tyres overspeeding, throttle dictating attitude as much as the steering. Any sense of heaviness disappears in an instant. Which, of course, is why all the adulation exists in the first place: this Escort is never happier than when ever so slightly (or a lot) beyond the grip threshold.
Having been desperate for the first go to finish, the second comes to an end all too soon. The Alan Mann Escort, for anyone used to more modern machinery, will require a lot of learning to get the very best from it, which ought to provide an absorbing challenge over time for those lucky enough. Hopefully, in the heat of competition, too. You’d have to imagine that those used to classics will fall immediately in love, because the car feels so durable and beautifully executed. There will always be cheaper routes into classic motorsport, though it isn’t hard to see why a package that includes assistance from such a storied name as Alan Mann might appeal to those with pockets (and memories) deep enough. The 68 Edition rewards their investment not just with a painstaking attention to period detail, but also the uniquely thrilling driving experience that comes with it. Don’t be surprised if the remaining examples are all spoken for very soon.
Engine: 1,840cc, four-cylinder
Transmission: 4-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 200@8,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): N/A
0-62mph: c. 5 seconds
Top speed: N/A
Weight: from 795kg (dry)
MPG: TBC
CO2: TBC
Price: from £300,000
Facebook Conversations