Tag Archives: Ford

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The Ford Escort RS Reborn: A 10,000rpm Love Letter to Boreham

Ford’s iconic Escort RS nameplate is back—but not as a restomod, not as a nostalgia-fueled tribute, and certainly not as a mild-hybrid crossover pretending to be something it’s not. No, the new Escort RS from Boreham Motorworks is an all-new car, approved by Ford itself, that channels the raw motorsport DNA of the 1970s rally hero and injects it with 21st-century engineering insanity.

At its heart is a 325bhp four-cylinder engine that revs to an astonishing 10,000rpm—and weighs a featherlight 85kg. Appropriately, it’s called the Ten-K, a name that encapsulates both its sky-high redline and its unashamed race-car attitude.

A Modern Echo of the BDA

The Ten-K was developed in Coventry, the spiritual home of Britain’s greatest engines, and it pays deliberate homage to the Cosworth BDA that powered the original Escort RS1600. Like that legendary unit, it’s a belt-driven, four-valve-per-cylinder engine—but this one’s been reimagined for modern performance. Displacement grows from 1.6 to 2.1 litres, and every internal component tells a story of cutting-edge design.

The crankshaft, connecting rods, subframe, dry sump, and cam cover are all machined from billet steel, while the cylinder head, inspired by Formula 1 powertrains, promises optimal intake and exhaust flow. Even the engine block benefits from 3D-printed castings, allowing thinner walls and thus lower mass without sacrificing rigidity.

Add individual throttle bodies, and the Ten-K delivers that raw, snarling induction note that made rally Escorts of old sound like miniature touring cars on amphetamines.

From the People Who Know How to Make Fords Sing

The Ten-K project was helmed by two former Ford heavyweights: Simon Goodliff, once the company’s chief engineer, and Laine Martin, former manager of engine calibration and control systems. In other words, these are people who know what makes a Ford engine tick—literally.

Their goal wasn’t nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake, but performance purity. Goodliff calls it “a driver’s engine, built for response, not restraint.” Judging by the numbers—and that manic redline—it’s clear the Ten-K was designed to make modern turbo fours look tame.

Two Flavors of Boreham Fury

Buyers will have two engines to choose from when they spec their Escort RS. Alongside the Ten-K, Boreham will offer an upsized, modernized version of the original Cosworth powerplant, tuned to deliver 182bhp—a nod to those who prefer classic flavor over rev-hungry ferocity.

But make no mistake: it’s the Ten-K that headlines this comeback. It’s a mechanical symphony that bridges five decades of motorsport heritage with aerospace-grade engineering.

An RS Built, Not Rebuilt

Perhaps the most remarkable part of this story is that the new Escort RS isn’t a restomod. It’s a ground-up, all-new car, built with Ford’s official blessing—something few boutique projects can claim. Production will be limited to just 150 cars, each hand-assembled and priced from £295,000.

That’s supercar money for what started life as a humble family hatch. But for those who understand the Escort’s rally-bred legacy, this isn’t a revival—it’s a resurrection.

Why It Matters

In an era when performance cars are increasingly electrified, sanitized, and silenced, Boreham Motorworks’ Escort RS stands defiantly apart. It’s a machine that doesn’t care about range anxiety or EU noise limits—it cares about revs, response, and soul.

With its 10,000rpm howl and featherweight engineering, the Ten-K Escort RS is more than just a rebirth—it’s a reminder that the heart of performance driving still beats loudest when powered by pistons, cams, and courage.

Source: Boreham Motorworks

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The £2,000 Jet Car: One Man, One Ford, and One Seriously Bad Idea

There are people who collect stamps. There are people who restore old Fords.
And then there’s Simon Lipscombe, a man who looked at a 2,600lb-thrust jet engine on eBay and thought, “Yeah, that’ll fit in the back of a pickup.”

The eBay Special

“It’s from a Mk3 Avro Shackleton,” he says, as if that’s a totally normal sentence. The Shackleton, for the uninitiated, was a lumbering Cold War patrol plane powered by four Rolls-Royce Griffon V12s — and, for reasons best described as British engineering exuberance, an extra pair of jet engines to give it a nudge when the Germans, or later the Soviets, needed scaring off.

One of those jets — all 800kg of it — now lives in Simon’s garage in Kent. “It cost me and my dad two grand with a few extra bits,” he shrugs. For comparison, that’s less than the average bill for a modern car’s first service. But this isn’t your average car.

From Cold War to Cold Start

Simon, chief mechanic at a hire car firm, did what any sensible human would do: he learned how to start a military jet engine from YouTube.

“I screwed it to a trailer, chained it to a tree, and ran it up,” he says. His friends stood behind an 8ft dirt bank, presumably wondering if they should’ve updated their wills. “I wasn’t scared — too busy checking for oil leaks.”

It ran. Beautifully. Loudly. And, crucially, without turning Simon’s postcode into a smouldering crater. The question then became: what next?

Enter the Ford P100

Simon already owned a Ford P100 with a V8 in the back — because of course he did — so the next logical step was to get another one and install the jet engine. “The P100 can carry a ton and has an 8ft load bay,” he explains with the calm rationality of a man about to break several laws of physics. “The jet engine weighs 800kg and it’s short, so it fits.”

The pickup’s original 1.8-litre diesel remains up front to actually drive the thing. The jet engine, mounted proudly in the bed, provides… let’s call it extra thrust.

“You only want to drive it in a straight line under jet power,” Simon adds. “Jet engines don’t do corners. The centrifugal forces inside them like to keep things pointing one way — preferably forwards.”

We’d call that understatement of the year.

The Controls: Simplicity Itself

No fancy ECU, no fly-by-wire wizardry here. Just a small hand control with two buttons — one to kill the engine, one to nudge the throttle. It’s the kind of setup NASA would’ve used in 1962 and TopGear would absolutely test on a deserted runway with a slightly terrified presenter.

The engine itself is multi-fuel: petrol, diesel, paraffin, whatever’s handy. “Avgas is about three times the price of petrol,” Simon says. “So I’m relieved it’ll run on ordinary fuels.” Sensible, again — though “sensible” might be stretching the definition when your pickup can roast a cow from fifty yards.

Santa Pod Awaits

Insurance, predictably, is less enthusiastic. Simon can’t fire up the jet at public shows, so his plan is to take it to Santa Pod Raceway for a proper run. “They’ll probably only let me do a soft pass,” he says, “but it’ll be noisy — and interesting.”

We suspect “interesting” is Simon’s code for “possibly apocalyptic.”

And Because One Jet Pickup Isn’t Enough…

Having successfully mated one Ford with a jet, Simon’s now turning his attention to his other P100 — the one with the V8. “I’ve just bought a Nimbus 105 turboshaft engine from a Wasp helicopter,” he says, like a man announcing he’s just popped out for milk. “It’s shaft-driven, so I can connect it straight to the Ford’s axles. Should be fun!”

“Fun.” That’s one word for it.

The Takeaway

In an age where most cars whisper silently on electrons, Simon’s jet-powered Ford P100 is a glorious, petrol-fumed middle finger to quiet efficiency. It’s a tribute to curiosity, mechanical madness, and the eternal truth that with enough determination — and questionable restraint — you can buy a jet engine on eBay and make it fit in a pickup.

Sir Frank Whittle would be proud.
The neighbours? Less so.

Source: M4NTIS Racing Channel via YouTube

News

Diplomacy on Four Wheels: Japan Might Buy a Fleet of Ford F-150s to Please Trump

In the strange theater of international politics, the next act might star an unlikely hero: the Ford F-150.

Ahead of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Japan later this month, Japanese officials are reportedly planning a gesture of goodwill that feels more like a scene out of Fast & Furious: Trade Negotiations. The government is said to be eyeing the purchase of more than 100 Ford F-150 pickup trucks—yes, the same all-American workhorses that define heartland driveways and job sites from Iowa to Texas.

The move follows a new U.S.–Japan tariff agreement reached less than two months ago and appears to be Tokyo’s way of addressing one of Trump’s favorite trade grievances: that Japan buys far too few American cars. And he’s not wrong about the numbers. In 2024, just 16,000 U.S.-built cars found homes in Japan, while Japanese automakers shipped an eye-watering 1.37 million vehicles to the States.

So, what do you do when your trade balance looks lopsided and the most powerful man in the world loves trucks? You buy a few dozen of them, of course—and maybe park one in front of the Akasaka Palace to make sure he notices.

A Symbolic Gesture on an Awkward Platform

There’s only one problem: Ford pulled out of Japan in 2016. There are no dealers, no service networks, and no official channels for parts. These F-150s, meant for road and dam inspections, will have to rely on independent mechanics and a lot of improvisation. Imagine a rural Japanese prefecture trying to source brake pads or a replacement infotainment unit for a 5.0-liter V8 Lariat—good luck.

Beyond the logistics, the bigger issue is that Japan simply doesn’t have a taste for trucks like the F-150. Narrow city streets, scarce parking, and sky-high fuel prices have kept large American vehicles off Japanese wish lists for decades. Even affluent buyers tend to favor compact SUVs or kei cars that can slip through Tokyo traffic without requiring a three-point turn at every intersection.

Cultural Curiosity Meets Market Reality

Still, the F-150 plan might not be entirely tone-deaf. Toyota’s own CEO, Akio Toyoda, recently floated the idea of importing American-built models like the full-size Tundra as a test case. If the Tundra and the F-150 can coexist, perhaps there’s a niche market—small, but curious—of Japanese buyers drawn to the exotic appeal of American brawn.

Realistically, though, this feels more like a symbolic import than a serious market shift. For Japan, it’s a polite diplomatic nod wrapped in 6,000 pounds of chrome and steel. For Ford, it’s an unexpected cameo in a country it left behind nearly a decade ago.

Whether this ends with a meaningful trade thaw or just a few confused government inspectors trying to park a SuperCrew on a Tokyo side street remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure: when it comes to global diplomacy, few gestures are as unmistakably American as a brand-new F-150 idling in front of a palace.

Source: Reuters