It could be said that determining what qualifies as classic or retro is not an easy task. Nowhere is it written in Ford law that a car of a certain age automatically qualifies as one or both. Likewise, there is no panel of experts who accept nominations for models then retire to mull and discuss the various merits behind closed doors before announcing their decisions.

Certainly, for the Mk1 and Mk2 Escorts no-one could argue to the contrary, and these days the Mk3 and Mk4 would receive little protest if you were to apply the label. Things get a little unclear when we move to the next generation - the early to mid 90s and the Mk5 and Mk6. Both now over 20 years old they occupy a kind of hinterland where they are not quite yet firmly rooted as classics, but could be argued as retro.

We can take guidance from various publications - Classic Ford Magazine’s catchment is pre 1990, as is sister print Retro Cars, seemingly making no age-related distinction between the two terms. Luckily as fiestaturbo.com exists as our own entity we are free to categorise however we wish and thus a 20 year minimum age seems like an appropriate rule. The blue Mk6 falls into this, but thanks to some choice mods like the LED lamp pods and tyre logos looks a lot more modern.

Elsewhere Jez’s silver Mk4 Escort has been through countless evolutions and every year there’s something new, this time some bespoke turbofans for the front wheels. He’s been a regular on the scene for as long as I can remember and after a brief chat he told me his first Ford Fair was 1996, so applying our rule makes Jez himself a definite Retro / Classic visitor!