This in my opinion is just a nice clean and quick MKII XR2...

The exterior is fairly standard with only a few alterations having been done, Clear front, side and rear lenses providing its angelic-like whiteness. Front and rear bumpers have been filled and smoothed to try and give it a slightly more modern feel and the boot latch and front grille have been sprayed the appropriate colour to match with the rest of the bodywork.

The front is pretty much to Ford's original spec. as in my opinion it should be with only the aforementioned alterations being done...

15" League Tantrums wrapped in 195/45 GoodYear Eagle F1's are the order of the day and provide an enhanced level of grip as well as really changing the look of the XR.

The Tantrums fit snuggly under the arches thanks to a 35mm drop courtesy of Spax Uprated springs and BOGE Shocks.

As you can imagine doing just this has made the car handle a huge amount better than the standard setup and has gone hand in hand with a Sparco Strut Brace on the front, an OMP Strut Brace on the rear and Powerflex Poly Bushes, oh and an adjustment to the front suspension shocks to enable adjustable camber - Which is always useful for trackdays!!!

The interior has had a complete overhaul and is now covered by a generous spread of leather! (Courtesy of Torque Interior Design) Front and Rear seats, Gear Gator and door cards have all been catered for and as you can see the results are very impressive!

The car now looks even better and has added a little bit of class to this sporty chariot. New padding and foam has been used and the seats are now more comfortable and supportive than ever before.

The standard dials have been replaced with Lockwood silver items and the needles are painted bright orange to match the oil pressure guage, all in an auto-meter style.

The mats are tailor made to fit the raised floor plan and so fit perfectly. This along with a Puma Gear Knob with the aforementioned Torque Interior Design Gator help to top the interior off nicely.

Under the bonnet the 1.6 CVH lump provided by Ford has had a few modifications. This includes a full engine rebuild with overbore - taking its size to approx. 1644CC, A stage 2 big valve head allows for enhanced air flow and the head has also been moderately skimmed to reduce any warping and increase compression. The old carb has been done away with in favour of a set of Weber twin 40 DCOEs. These not only look and sound amazing, they also serve to really push the car up and through the rev range!

Cosmetically, all fuel pipess use goodridge braided lines as well as a braided line to the alloy oil catch tank. All using appropriate end finishers. Oil filler cap, rocker cover, suspension tops, battery cover, brake fluid reservoir and strut brace have all been chromed and the exhaust manifold has recieved a generous spread of heat wrap to keep the heat in and get the gasses out.

To assist in putting this extra power down is a LUK Low lift clutch, a reconditioned closer geared gear box with 4:1 final drive and a Limited Slip Diff from a Series One Escort Turbo. This alone (LSD) makes an amazing difference and totally changes the way the car drives.

The old flywheel has been lightned enabling the engine to spin up quicker and it certainly does that!

The old exhaust has been replaced with a full Magnex four branch manifold and system which not only allows the air to flow out more smoothly and add a few extra bhp it also totally changes the sound of the car!

To gain the utmost power from the engine a Phase 3 Newman Cam has been fitted which uses solid lifters. Although it makes the engine a bit more noisey the fact that it lets you rev the car harder and further makes up for it.

Fully Rebuilt Engine with RS Turbo big end and main bearings, Overbored 1mm = approx 1644cc, Newman Phase 3 cam with Solid Lifters, Kent Adjustable Vernier, Stage 2 Big Valve Head (43.43mm inlet valves and 38.10 exhaust valves), bronze valve guides, multi-angle cut valve seats, Skimmed 20 thou of an inch, Magnex four branch manifold and system (wrapped in heat wrap), Facet Silver Top Competition fuel pump, Filter King (FPR), Weber twin 40 DCOEs, Magnecor 8.5mm Race Leads. Lightened Flywheel, Limited Slip Differential from a Series One ERST, LUK Low Lift Clutch, reconditioned closer geared - gearbox with 4:1 final drive ratio.

Chromed: Rocker Cover, Suspension Tops and Sparco Strut Brace, Battery cover, Brake fluid reservoir cover.

Thanks to Dean at Shepherd Motors in Essex (01245) 477 999, and also Dean from SoundStage in Hertfordshire (01992) 303 353, Torque Interior Design (Thanks to Kirstin and Debbie In particular) (01206) 272943 and Mowatts Motor Engineers (01268) 726225, also Ben at Performance Ford Magazine.