THE COSMOPOLITAN RS

Inspired by the first major rally win for an RS, this South African-built Ford combined parts from Germany and Britain to create the ultimate Taunus

-  CHARLIE CALDERWOOD

Long before the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight, the term 'hybrid' in the automotive world used to refer to cars with major components coming from different places, and often a body or chassis from one country and an engine from another. Think De Tomaso Pantera, AC Cobra or, less glamorously, Alfa Romeo Arna. The Ford before us isn't the product of just two countries, however, but three continents.

Ford of Europe was founded in 1967, but it took a few years for the model ranges of Ford of Britain and Germany to truly combine and, until 1971, you could still buy a Taunus in the UK that was largely unrelated to contemporary Ford Cortinas. While Brits have long thought the RS line began with the Escort RS 1600 of 1970 and Advanced Vehicle Operations (AVO) of Aveley, the Taunus was really the first car to wear the now legendary Rallye Sport badge, making its debut on the Taunus P6 15M RS in 1967. A fairly cynical attempt at boosting sales at a time when Opel was outselling Ford in Germany, the strategy nonetheless worked, and the company was convinced of its potential.

Just over a year later, three of the latest RS model, the P7b 20M RS, were entered into the London-Sydney Marathon rally. Two completed the event, the highest of them placing seventh in a competition where just reaching the finish line was considered a success. It was a political win for Ford of Germany, because the Taunus placed higher than any of the British Fords. The 20M RS was entered in the East African Safari Rally just weeks later, with one of the cars fresh from the London-Sydney taking top honours. Before the Escort wrote the initials 'RS' into legend in the 1970s, the 20M RS had earned the sub-brand its first major rally win and proved itself a capable car in the heat and dust of Africa.