British racing green (and red, and yellow, and blue)

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A splash of colour can brighten up the dullest winter day, so here you go: enjoy this selection of Fords lined up for distribution. They are not your average Escorts as these are lined up outside Ford’s AVO premises in Aveley, Essex, with AVO standing for Advanced Vehicle Operations - yes, fast Fords such as the Escort Mexico and RS1600 were made here as well as the works rally cars. With their flared arches, strengthened shells, high-performance engines and sports suspension, these were desirable cars when they were new and are still just that today, with prices reaching astronomical levels some 50 years later.

These were the Fords which took over the racing and rallying scene in the early 1970s and the Aveley factory must have further aided in Ford’s reputation for building good cars. The motoring press was invited regularly and waxed lyrical about the AVO plant. Former Grand Prix driver Henry Taylor (Cooper and Lotus) as well as rally drivers Bill Meade and Richard Martin-Hurst worked in the 90,000 sq. ft. factory, which was impressive just for its size alone.

Motor Sport magazine’s Andrew Marriot wrote in January 1971: ‘As a purchaser of an Escort RS1600 or Mexico you can rest assured that your high-performance car has not been thrown together amidst a line of “ordinary” cars. It also ensures that standard parts don’t mysteriously appear on your high-performance car. The days were when the late-lamented Lotus Cortinas appeared with some rather foreign ‘options’. The writer’s personal car was delivered with a 1300 Cortina radiator which wasn’t discovered until a year later!’

Unfortunately, there was a downside: Aveley was, of course, an expensive operation, and with Ford still being a company run by bean-counters it was decided to close down the AVO plant after just over four years in early 1975. A real pity.

Words: Jeroen Booij; picture: Ford PR
 

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