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MST Cars' New-Build Mk1 Escort: Mk1 Sports, Mk1 EVO and How Ordering Works

MST Cars Mk1 Sports and Mk1 EVO, new-build Mk1 Escorts built in North Wales – mk1escort.org title card

There are two ways to get a Mk1 Escort that drives like a modern car. You can restore and modify an original, as Retropower did for Gordon Murray (see our episode-by-episode guide). Or you can buy one that’s new from the bodyshell up, which is what MST Cars in North Wales builds. Here’s who MST is, what its Mk1 Sports and Mk1 EVO are, what the press says they cost, and how ordering works.

Who MST Cars is

MST Cars Ltd is based at Llithfaen, near Pwllheli on the Llŷn Peninsula, and is part of the Motorsport-Tools UK group. MST says Motorsport-Tools has traded since 2008, moving from motorsport tools and equipment to Escort Mk1 and Mk2 parts. Once it stocked nearly everything needed to build a rally car, it started building complete cars. MST says 2020 was the first year of its new road-registered Mk1 and Mk2.

MST is not Ford. The footer of every page on MST’s site says that MST Cars Ltd and Motorsport Tools UK Ltd “are not authorized or otherwise affiliated with Ford Motor Company”. MST calls its cars the “MST Mk1” and “MST Mk2”, not Escorts. As evo puts it, as far as Ford’s lawyers are concerned an MST isn’t an Escort, however much it looks like one. That’s the difference from a licensed continuation, which we’ll cover in a later post.

What MST does make is the bodyshell. Its spec pages describe a new shell, hand built in the UK and stamped with a DVLA-registered VIN/chassis number. Auto Express explains why that matters: MST builds Mk1 and Mk2 shells in-house and registers the cars as brand new, so there’s no tired original to repair before the real work starts.

The MST Mk1 Sports

MST pitches the Mk1 Sports as a cost-effective new road car based on the sporting Mk1s of the 1970s, built to “AVO / Rally Sport specifications”. Auto Express called it “effectively a modernised Twin Cam model”.

MST’s spec page lists:

  • Engine: 2.0-litre 16-valve twin cam, about 180bhp, on Jenvey throttle bodies
  • Transmission: five-speed close-ratio T5 gearbox; Atlas axle with a torque-biasing differential
  • Suspension: adjustable MacPherson struts with coilover springs and a “Twin Cam” anti-roll bar at the front; adjustable dampers, anti-tramp bars and uprated leaf springs at the rear
  • Brakes: four-pot alloy calipers on vented discs at the front, solid discs at the rear
  • Body: flared arches, right- or left-hand drive, shell built to MST’s “Type-49” spec with extra strengthening
  • Wheels and tyres: four-spoke 6x13 alloys on 185/60-13 tyres, with Minilites as an option
  • Inside: two reclining sports seats, a rear bench/luggage area and manual steering

Standard paint is Frozen White, with period colours, a Mexico/RS stripe pack or any colour you like as options. Extras include Cibié spotlamps, an Alpine stereo and a Thatcham alarm and tracker.

Price: as reported by Auto Express (23 March 2026), the Mk1 Sports starts at £79,500 plus VAT, “or the equivalent of just over £95,000”. At the time, Auto Express reported a lead time of about 18 months, with 2026 build slots already allocated. MST’s own site doesn’t publish a price, so check the current figure and slots directly with MST.

MST also lists a Stage 1 “Fast Road & Touring” Mk1 with a 200bhp-plus 2.5-litre Ford Duratec, Bilstein suspension and AP Racing brakes. We found no published price for it. For more on Duratecs, our Retropower Episode 5 guide shows Cosworth building one.

How MST builds a Mk1

MST’s FAQ says every car is hand built in Wales on assembly jigs, in three stages: bodyshell assembly, bodywork and paint, then final assembly and testing. Panels, engine, gearbox, axle and suspension are new. MST adds that some components may have to be sourced reconditioned, naming internal door workings, some trim parts and “body structure”. For engines, the FAQ lists the 2.5-litre Ford Duratec as the base unit, with BDA/BDG and Millington Diamond (up to 2.8 litres) as upgrades.

Video: MST Cars on YouTube · watch “MST Cars Factory, Mk1 Bodyshell Manufacturing” on YouTube

In this 3-minute video from November 2024, MST shows how its new bodyshells are made, which it describes as hand built in the UK to Group-4 rally specification. Its YouTube channel has more short clips of shells, cars in build and the EVO.

You can’t order an exact 1970s replica. New road-registered cars must pass today’s IVA rules, so MST says they need modern engines and safety features such as a collapsible steering column, head restraints and modern belts. It can restore an original Escort as a historic car instead.

The MST Mk1 EVO

The Mk1 EVO is the extreme end of the range. MST says it spent two years developing it, from concept drawings to clay-modelled arches, and reworked the suspension for 17in wheels. The arches and diffuser are carbonfibre, and the independent rear suspension was, in MST’s words, “initially designed and tested by the late Colin McRae for his Mk2 Escort rally car”. Gordon Murray’s Retropower car went independent at the rear too; Episode 2 explains why.

The engine spec depends on which source you read:

  • MST’s EVO page lists a naturally aspirated 2.7-litre Millington Diamond with 330bhp-plus, or a 2.8-litre with 360bhp-plus. The gearbox is a Tractive six-speed sequential or a T5 H-pattern. The page also lists Bilstein coilovers, AP Racing six-pot front and four-pot rear calipers, and Superlite 17in wheels.
  • At the July 2026 launch, Auto Express and evo both reported a 2.5-litre, 350bhp Millington as the starting point, with 2.7 and 2.8-litre options. They also reported a six-speed sequential (paddle-shift, according to Auto Express), WRC-spec Reiger dampers and 18in wheels on Michelin tarmac rally tyres, with 17in road wheels as an alternative. evo reported up to 300lb ft from the 2.8.

Auto Express says the EVO is designed for tarmac rallying and track use. Both magazines say it can also be ordered with a trimmed “touring” spec, and MST and evo both list right- or left-hand drive.

Price: as reported by evo (7 July 2026), the Mk1 EVO costs from £195,000 plus local taxes. Auto Express (7 July 2026) put it at £195,000 plus VAT, “or about £234k total before you start customising things”. MST’s page says the order book is open with “very limited build slots for 2027”. Both magazines reported 2027 as almost or entirely full.

How to order an MST

MST’s process is a conversation, not an online configurator:

  1. Get in touch. Contact MST through its contact page with your requirements. Showroom viewings at Llithfaen are by appointment only.
  2. Spec the car together. MST works through the specification with you and keeps in touch during the build; it says no two cars are the same. There are four spec stages: Stage 1 fast road and touring, Stage 2 track and harder driving, Stage 3 basic competition rally car, and Stage 4 ultimate rally or race car, plus “special operations” beyond that.
  3. Wait for your slot. Cars are generally built to order (see the lead times above), though MST says it has some new and used cars in stock.
  4. Finance and warranty. MST’s finance partner is Access Business Finance (hire purchase, finance lease, terms up to seven years). New UK cars get a 12-month vehicle warranty and three years on paintwork. The vehicle warranty excludes faults from racing, rallying or off-road use.

MST also sells every component used in its builds separately, bodyshell included, which is useful if you’re building your own.

Sources

All checked 20 October 2026. MST’s site doesn’t list prices, so every price above comes from the press reports named.

mk1escort.org is an independent enthusiast site and isn’t connected with MST Cars or Ford. Prices and specs change, so confirm them with MST before you commit.

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