Fords WERE Harmed in the Making of This Film
The production of Fast & Furious 6 purchased five 1972 Ford Escort RS1600’s to use in the movie. These cars were taken to a shop in Britain to be torn down and turned into purpose built stunt cars. According to Edmunds, these stunt cars were fitted with a rebuilt engine, new 5-speed transmission, roll cage, race bucket seats, Revotec gauges, and 13 inch Compomotive Minilite wheels. (nice!)
The Escorts were cast to be co-starring for Paul Walker’s character Bryan O’Conner as his vehicle of choice. The car-character’s big moment in the film is when it jumps a highway divider during the chase involving a tank in the Canary Islands. The car jumps, lands, and keeps on driving thanks to movie magic.
Two Escorts were used to film the jump scene. One ended up on its roof and was destroyed, and this particular car landed on its wheels. However, the hard landing meant it ended up in a permanent yoga pose – a twisted heap. Destroying desirable classic cars for stunts that end up looking fake thanks to rapid editing is the very reason I loathe the F&F movies. Granted, most of these were not true RS models, but I stand by my statement.
After 2013, this mangled Escort RS1600 stunt car was put away in storage for years in the UK until it was purchased by a collector. The new owner spent 70,000 pounds completely restoring the car. Rolling back the clock on the abuse it took being an international movie star.
The car has been reborn and now powered by a 2.0-liter Vauxhall engine. According to the owner the car has clocked about 20 miles since the restoration. It is a new-classic and was put up for sale with The Classic and Sportscar Centre of West Knapton, North Yorkshire. The asking price was 80,000 pounds and thanks to the internet they’ve received over 7,000 views on their online advert. It comes as no surprise that the Escort RS was sold rather quickly.
The online advert is worth a read as it gives a detailed description of everything that has been done to this 1972 Escort RS1600.
Jesus Behind the Wheel 