Ford's history in British Touring Cars is long and illustrious, with success stretching right back to the inauguration of the series in the 50s; the second champion of British Touring Cars was Jeff Uren in a Ford Zephyr Six.
Then through Cortinas, Escorts, Capris and Sierras, Ford took many more victories, while also capturing the hearts and minds of racing fans across the country. How many Escort and Sierra purchases will have been swayed by sons wanting their dads to be their touring car heroes? A few, hopefully.
BTCC fans will all have their favourite era, the years growing up where the drivers were their idols and the cars as cool as any Ferrari. For me that was the late 90s, just catching the Super Tourers before the 2001 rule change. Rydell, Aiello, Menu et al in Vectras, S40s, Primeras, Accords and more. Arguably the mid-90s were even better but it was pretty fantastic for me.
So to see a pair of cars from the era for sale is especially exciting. The Mondeo was always notable in the BTCC for having a V6; the four-cylinder cars screaming to over 8,000rpm were cool but a V6 was something else again, even when you're nine. Need a reminder? See here.
Some great names on there
Unfortunately these cars aren't from the glorious 1-2-3 season in 2000, instead chassis numbers two and three from the 1999 campaign. There were a few podiums between them but nothing like the dominance of the year after. The cars for 1999 and 2000 were built by Prodrive, with one extra built in '99 for display in the Millennium Dome...
Looking over these now it's easy to forget how specialised the Super Tourers were. See how low and far back the driver sits, the amount of carbon everywhere and the incredible stance, wheels jammed right in the arches. There's even a load of spares with them too so there's no excuse not to drive.
Even more encouraging is that there is a championship for these cars; the Super Touring Trophy runs alongside the BTCC at certain events, giving the cars from 1991-2000 a chance to stretch their legs. Failing that, they would surely be brilliant on test days and hill climbs, as chassis number two has been used for recently. What better way to enjoy being very wealthy than arriving at a track with a mate and your own BTCC Mondeo? They're only being sold as a pair after all...
FORD MONDEO BTCC
Price: £250,000
Why you should: A racer from a great era of touring cars. Two of them!
Why you shouldn't: £250K for two Ford Mondeos
See the original advert here
