RARER THAN RARE – THE FORD ESCORT HUNTSMAN ESTATE

Stephen Bradbury is the proud owner of one of the most exclusive members of the Escort Mk.1 and Mk.2 ranges. This is a car that makes the Twin-Cam, the first-generation RS2000 and the second-generation Harrier, Mexico and RS1800 seem familiar sights by comparison. This is the Ford Escort Huntsman Estate, a dealer special edition version with single figure survivors.

The Huntsman debuted in spring 1980. One launch advertisement proclaimed: “For the very first time, the Ford Main Dealers of South East England have come together to introduce two very special cars!” - i.e., the Escort 1.3 L Mk. II Estate and Cortina 1.6L Mk. V Estate with extra equipment.

And so, the Escort Huntsman boasted sports road wheels, halogen driving lights, a tailgate wash/wipe, a load compartment carpet, front head restraints, a passenger door mirror and a “Push Button MW/LW Radio” all for £4,212. By comparison the far more Spartan standard Escort L Estate was £3,874. As for the paint finish, it was, of course, Huntsman Red augmented with gold coachlines.

The advertisements promised “Very Special Estates. They’ll never be any others like them.” Not to mention “Not everyone seeking a Huntsman will be lucky enough to buy one. Cortina and Escort Huntsman are too exclusive and far too exciting to miss. The chase is on!”. The latter model served two important purposes for their dealerships. The first is that Ford was shortly to introduce the Escort FWD Mk. III and distributors needed to clear showrooms of its predecessor.

The second was 1980 saw a glut in the new car market. The Telegraph reported that “an advertising war has broken out amongst the big car manufacturers and importers” as there was “an estimated stock of 400,000 unsold cars around the country”. One Berkshire dealer even offered “Buy the new, exclusive Limited Edition Huntsman Escort Estate and get a FREE Huntsman Trailer, purpose-built by Tow- Rite" to stimulate the local new car market.

Just 350 Escort Huntsmans departed the showrooms and Stephen’s is now the only one on the road:

I have a few classics, but the Escort Huntsman is my favourite, and it drives outstandingly. Apparently there is one that has not been on the road for over 20 years with less than 30, 000 miles on the clock, but it never sees the light of day. I like ‘one only on the road’ cars as I’ve got two others – a Maestro Advantage with only two left but only one on the road and a Maestro 1.3LE - the only one in existence.

But that is another story!

With thanks to Stephen Bradbury for his time and permission to use the images in this blog.