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It all started with a copy of The AA Book of The Car and then I dismantled my first engine at age 9. A lifelong love of cars has followed, and I have owned quite a few; Mk 1 Escort, Minis, an Alfasud, five Subaru Imprezas, and an Evo VIII MR are some of the good ones. But the one that sticks in my mind was a two-year-old Nissan R35 GTR I bought in 2012 for £45k. I took it to tracks all around the UK as well as several trips to the Nurburgring and Spa. Fun times! But what was an eye-opener to me was selling it four years later for £41,500 – to a dealer. I had no idea that a modern car could be almost depreciation free. So, I became an avid watcher of the classic and modern classic market – I bring all of this to the Bidding Classics – to list the right appreciating classics for your collection.
This may take you back to pub discussions from the 80’s – that always got out of hand.
Which is the best fast Ford? The XR2 or XR3.
The XR2 I’m talking about the Mark 2, made from 1984 to 89. The Mark 1 with the 1600 Crossflow was a good light car, but a bit underpowered.
The Mark 2 swapped that for the new CVH engine. Finally a mass-produced Ford engine with an overhead cam! How modern. It didn’t rev very well and the engine was gruff, but it powered these light 80s cars at a reasonable pace.
When the XR3 first came out it wasn’t injected, that took them eight months. I imagine it will be pretty hard to find a non-i XR3 now. But once the injection was added the XR3i had 10HP on the carburettered XR2.
So extra Escort weight was matched by extra power. This left little to choose between them acceleration-wise: XR2 0-60 9.3 sec. XR3 0-60 9.4 sec.
Both had 5 speed boxes as standard, so they were (for the time) quiet on the motorway.
I think it’s handling where the XR2 pips it. A smaller more compact car, wheels at the corners. That led to a proper hot hatch experience. Whereas the XR3 was a bigger family car, a bit more cumbersome and less willing to change direction.
I know I’m biased, as I used to race an XR2 in the XR challenge, so it’s always going be the little ‘un for me. But actually you don’t have to decide, because we have both available:
So have a look at the listings, watch the video, then make us an offer on one or both.
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