A few months ago I was photographing a Car Farm Social meet when a stunning car caught my eye. An impressive 1989 Escort RS Turbo Series 2. Parked in the perfect spot in the corner of the car park I quickly walked over to check it out. It really was beautiful and in immaculate condition, spotless inside and out. It had also attracted the attention of many other visitors to the meet, so I waited patiently for a break in admirers so I could capture some photos and videos of it.
Unfortunately I didn't get to meet the owner on the night, and nobody seemed to know who the owner was so I wasn't able to find out more about the car on the night. Thankfully the owner placed an order for prints a few weeks later and then I got to introduce myself and tell them how much I had loved their car. It really is a small world as it turns out I had already met the owner, Alex, a few years previously when I did a photo shoot of his daughter.
Shortly after first spotting the car I posted a video on TikTok to share with others, it was really popular and got 23k views in a couple of days. Everyone admired it as much as I did so that is when I decided to contact Alex about doing a blog post so I could share the story with others. After several emails we confirmed a time and perfect location to shoot and give me a chance to find out more about it's history.
Alex, an Aircraft Fitter, lives in Oswestry with his wife and 2 children. He told me about how he had always been into cars and trucks since he could remember. His Dad was a lorry driver and did banger racing and, his dad fixed their cars growing up and they were always spannering and fettling with cars and lorries at weekends and in the holidays.
He told me ' I absolutely loved XR3i's and RS Turbo's growing up, my dream car was a grey Series 2 RS Turbo. I spotted this exact car a few miles from home when I was 12 and vowed that one day it would be mine. I plucked up the courage to knock on the door when I was 24 and pestered the previous owner to death until he let buy it when I was 25. There are only 2 previous owners before me, the 1st for 3 years, then the 2nd owner for 17 years and finally me for 13 years. Its a Furrows car, Shropshire registered and has never left the area!'
You can really tell that this car has been loved by all it's owners, and it makes it even more special how a car that was once a childhood dream has actually become a reality.
Alex went on to tell me ' Owning this car is a dream come true, I love it to bits, I love looking at it, working on it, cleaning it and driving it as much as I can. She has survived our wedding, 2 house purchases, 2 children and Covid, she is a keeper for sure.'
Personally I think the reason it is so popular is you can it has been well looked after, people appreciate the love and time invested into keeping this car original as possible. It also sparks memories from childhoods and is a dream car for many who love the old school vibe.
I asked Alex why he thinks the car is unique, here is what he said ' I think what makes this car unique is the rarity now, it was 20 years old when I bought it so was starting to become less common but now as a few more have fallen off the radar and another 13 years have passed, its a rare car now. Also the modifications are fairly period, I'm no sheep and I won't fit stuff that's just in fashion, in my opinion, all the mods suit the car and are all reversible.'
Full Vehicle specification below:
I am sure you will agree the car is a well preserved slice of history and it is amazing to hear the history of how Alex came to be it's owner. Times are changing and without people like Alex cars like this would just become a distant memory. I will be writing more blog posts about the cars I come across and events I attend. If you have a car with a story then feel free to get in touch with me.
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