If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed at the annual All Ford Day in Geelong, Victoria, it’s that you’ll encounter Fords you haven’t seen before. That’s because the All Ford Day is the largest car show of its type in Australia, regularly attracting more than 1,500 display vehicles.
In past years, the All Ford Day has drawn cars from all over Australia. The increase in fuel prices caused by the US-Iran war limited interstate visitors this year, but there were still entrants from outside of Victoria amongst the 1,000+ vehicles on display.
Getting back to the rarities that are always found at the All Ford Day, this Escort was one of them.
The Escort ‘GT 1600’ (also called the ‘1600 GT’ in some reporting) was essentially a rebadged version of the Escort ‘Twin Cam’ that combined Ford’s compact commuter car with a 1.6-litre, double overhead cam four-cylinder engine developed by Lotus. While a hit in the ‘Lotus Cortina,’ this performance powerplant never found the same success in the Escort – at least not in Australia – due to price, build quality and reliability issues.
By the time the Escort launched in Australia in 1970, it had been on sale in the UK for two years, in a bewildering array of variants and trim levels. Some of these were offered here, including panel vans, but a four-door sedan wouldn’t be available until 1972. Comparable to a Toyota Corolla of the period in terms of spec and price (but not performance), base versions of these early Escorts were cheaper than a Torana and faster, too.
In 1972, an improved version of the Twin Cam was released locally, rebadged as the ‘GT 1600’ and aimed at enthusiast drivers. Along with a peppier engine (producing around 85kW and 143Nm) than the rest of the Escort range, the GT 1600 came with front bumperettes, Minilite-style sports wheels and full instrumentation. Success in rallying and a class win at Bathurst in 1972 did little to improve sales for this performance variant, with the 1600 GT discontinued prior to the arrival of the completely restyled Escort MkII in 1975.
With only around 1,200 examples built locally (against total Escort MkI production in Australia of more than 67,000), the GT 1600 is a rare sight these days, so it was heartening to see one at the All Ford Day. The ‘72 TCAM’ numberplate on this car referenced the similarity between the Twin Cam and GT 1600.
For JUST CARS’ report from the 2026 All Ford Day, click HERE.
