We designed a Gulf-inspired Boreham Motorworks Escort RS

Not long after our recent visit to the team in the midlands, we got a second look at the Boreham Motorworks 'continumod' Ford Escort Mk1 at the 2026 London Concours. 

Resplendent in the sun in a deep forest green and accompanied by head of design Wayne Burgess, the completely reworked RS is the result of a concerted effort to retain the character of the original alongside dramatically improved all-round performance and luxury. 

The original was raw — and this new iteration retains that with a screaming naturally-aspirated engine, integrated roll-cage and modern chassis control — but upgrades to CMF are palpable and the overall design has been refined in line with its upmarket price tag. 

From the sidelines of the Concours, CDN was invited to configure its own version with the help of visualisation specialist Ryan Lewis and CMF designer Francheska-Maria Dobrinska. Presented with an almost infinite array of colours, materials and finishes inside and out — not to mention wheel designs — it was difficult to know where to start. But having the designers on hand to guide (not steer) was incredibly useful. We can see how real customers would benefit from the one-to-one experience. 

"For a small company like us with very low volume and very high-end niche products, the capability to show customers their designs on a configurator is a huge advantage, and something you don't normally experience in a much larger OEM," notes Burgess. 

The configurator in question is primarily the work of Lewis who explains that it began as something of a pet project before quickly spiralling into a full on programme that is used by the entire organisation. 

"It has been a massive challenge, but it's been a lot of fun. The configurator started off quite small with just a few options, but we now have hundreds of options," he says. "We have spent a lot of time calibrating the colours, materials and textures to make sure the physical samples align with what the customer sees on screen, and it's great to have people working through it in person -- you realise how everybody has different ideas."

Indeed, there is plenty of opportunity to get hands on with various material samples, from metals and fabrics to different shades of carbon fibre and even the finish of discrete details like the fuel filler cap. It makes the visuals on the screen feel more real. 

"There's a skill in being able to pull ideas out of our clients, but it is a massive help to have this configurator alongside our materials because people are not just looking at random things on a table," agrees Dobrinska. "They can see what is going on with their actual car as we try different things in real time."

We opted for Gulf-inspired livery purely as it was the first thing that came to mind, curious given the GT40 is really the only Ford that has famously donned the sky blue and orange. 

We kept things fairly minimal with subtle orange striping and matching brake callipers, while the interior features darker navy tones for the centre console, carpet and headliner. That theme continues with the blue carbon fibre and aluminium details and brightwork. Sky blue seat bolsters combine with a light biscuit centre that we felt would chime nicely with the orange accents elsewhere. The verdict? 

"I like the Gulf livery, but I wouldn't have chosen the BBS wheels myself because I think of the ones we offer, they are probably more closely linked with German cars," says design director Wayne Burgess. "For me, I would have gone for a more recognisable wheel, but the colour combination is really nice and the interior is lovely. I like the fact that you've stretched the boundaries with a mix of finishes. That's all really lovely. So nine out of 10, with a point deducted for not choosing the right wheels."