Ford celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Ford Escort at Goodwood Festival of Speed at the weekend. 

Rally legend and former world champion Björn Waldegård entertained the crowds at the wheel of a Ford Escort RS1800 while BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team's Mikko Hirvonen turned on the style in the world championship-leading Ford Focus RS World Rally Car.

Waldegård, Hirvonen and an Escort RS1800 came together as Hirvonen sampled the iconic car for the first time, while the Swede reignited the memories by getting back behind the wheel of the car in which he won the 1979 world title.

They belong to different generations of Ford's rallying heritage.  One is a former drivers' world champion from the days when rallies covered several thousand kilometres and 36 hours behind the wheel without sleep was commonplace. 

The other is one of today's young stars of the sport, chasing his first world title in an era when rallies are more of a sprint than a marathon and are fought out under a constant media spotlight.

But although there is 37 years separating them, the glint in their eyes and the animated chatter about items as diverse as synchromesh gearboxes, rack and pinion steering and BDA engines displayed a shared love of a Ford car that, if not yet antique, certainly classifies as historic.

Mikko Hirvonen, current leader of the FIA World Rally Championship for the BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team, and Björn Waldegård, world champion for the Blue Oval in 1979, had just climbed from behind the wheel of a Ford Escort RS1800 rally car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, England (July 11 -13, 2008). 

Both were gently perspiring in the warmth of the British summer as they swapped tales of the enjoyment they had just derived from their time in one of the sport's legendary cars.

This year is the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Escort, a car that became an icon across Europe on both the public roads and rallying's special stages.  And this was the model in which the 64-year-old Swede became the sport's first-ever drivers' world champion. 

While Waldegård has never lost the buzz gained from taking the wheel of what he describes as 'the most fun rally car to drive', this was a great opportunity for 27-year-old Hirvonen to experience a works-specification Escort RS1800 – and he was extremely impressed.

"I would sell my house for one of those.  I've always been a big Ford Escort fan and I just love the sound of a BDA engine. 

When I started in rallycross I drove an Escort but this is the first time I've driven one with a BDA engine and it's amazing.  I could stay in there and have fun all day," said Hirvonen, whose more usual mount in the WRC is a four-wheel drive, 300bhp Focus RS World Rally Car.