Before the world knew of the Ford Focus, the Escort was entertaining people across the planet, and in true Ford fashion, you could get your hands on some seriously quick ones straight from the factory. We've seen some crazy examples of this humble people carrier, including Ken Block's Escort rally car, and while we don't expect Ford to ever revive the name, it is still cool to see people giving these cars the love they deserve. One such car is this street-legal MK2 Ford Escort built by competition road and rally car manufacturer MST. The company builds these cars by hand at its HQ in Northern Wales, and they might just be the perfect B-road bombers ever.

MST starts the building process not by restoring but fabricating an all-new bodyshell. This body is then given an official DVLA-registered chassis number. Once things have been made legit with the law, the build can begin in earnest. MST gives its customers the option to go for a standard body, or a 'Tarmac' spec body which will swallow an FIA-approved roll cage. Under the hood, customers get a 2.5-liter Ford Duratec engine fitted with ATR throttle bodies, a free-flow exhaust system, a billet sump, and an alloy radiator. In this guise, you can expect 200 horsepower, but upgrades are available to push that number up to 300 hp.

Power gets sent to the rear via a limited-slip differential, and the 13-inch minilite alloy wheels are kept to the ground thanks to a set of Bilstein coilover springs and dampers. Bringing things to a halt is a set of AP racing discs with four-pot calipers in the front, and single pot calipers in the rear. Being a road-legal rally car means you don't get much in terms of interior features, but you do get some nice bucket seats and optional leather upholstery. The cost of one of these Escorts? Expect to pay a starting price of £69,000 ($93,045). That's almost $20k more than a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500. Worth it.