Ford Escort XR3: we drive the hot hatch pioneer
Hot hatches: they’re an established part of the motoring landscape, blending real-world practicality with sports car pace. Ford has been at the forefront of hot hatches in the UK for decades, but the most recent RS and ST-badged Focuses and Fiestas owe their existence to one car, the Escort XR3, which celebrated its 40th birthday last year. No one really knows where the XR badge came from, although it first appeared on the Mercury Cougar XR7 from Ford’s US brand in the late sixties. In Europe, at least, bosses were in consensus that Ford should move away from its clichéd ‘S’ brand in...
Source: autoexpress.co.uk