The humble Escort, the king of 70's rallying relegated to chasing a Hulk van around a figure of eight!
Alas! The Escort is definitely a favourite for Powertrack fans and rightly so. The chunky detailing and semi matt paint finish rendered it uber-cool, long before the phrase was invented.
Alas! The Escort is definitely a favourite for Powertrack fans and rightly so. The chunky detailing and semi matt paint finish rendered it uber-cool, long before the phrase was invented.
The UK car was identical to the US car, though both appeared at the same time. The Escort was the first of four new cars for Matchbox in 1979. The Fiat, TR7 & VW Scirocco being the others. These four cars were all rally cars and this opened up the appeal of 'F1 & Sportscar' based slot car tracks.
I am still surprised the Escort and Fiat never appeared in a set together but I can tell you this. The Escort regularly appeared as a 'fill in' car, for when stocks were short of others. Both the PT-8000 and PT-6000 were known to include this item. In fact, Woolworths gave away a Ford Escort free with every Race & Chase back in 1980!
The US car was numbered 4 on a white rectangle, while the UK car was number 8 on a white trapezoid. Apart from that, there were a couple of additions;
The US car was numbered 4 on a white rectangle, while the UK car was number 8 on a white trapezoid. Apart from that, there were a couple of additions;
The yellow Escort (above) was much rarer, featuring black detailing and the important Ford badging. This is a real collectors item and a fine addition to the range, but as with all the yellow Powertrack cars, the bodywork has faded and become fairly transluscent, a real pity in this case.
The Prototype Escort is shown above, and is pretty much stock Escort, though obviously the window plastic is missing. I reckon Matchbox were maybe wondering what colour to do the glass - although black or clear seem obvious, they went for a fetching dark green.
However, rarest of the lot is a red Escort I saw in 1979. Pretty much the same as a regular Escort but having a distinct red and black chequered roof. I saw several of these at a model shop in Reading that has long ceased trading. I remember being fascinated back then because I hadn't seen it before, and I was unlikely to see it since. Rest assured, they're out there somewhere...
