---
title: "How to identify a Ford Escort ZX2 S/R"
description: "How to tell a real Ford Escort ZX2 S/R from a base ZX2, with a physical checklist and a VIN reader."
url: https://zx2ms.com/wiki/sr/identify
reviewed: 2026-10-30
---

# Is it a real S/R?

> The S/R was an option package, so most of the proof is on the car and in its paperwork. Parts get swapped, so look for several of these together.

## Checklist

1. **Model year 1999 or 2000**: No S/R was built in any other year. A 1999 car should be yellow.
2. **S/R badge on the trunk** [Confirmed]: A small S/R decal under the ZX2 badge. Red cars got a silver one (Ford part XS4Z5442528-AAC, per an owner parts list); yellow and black cars got red.
3. **150-mph speedometer** [Confirmed]: With a silver surround, as Ford's 1999 release describes it. Ford Racing also sold the silver gauge face (M-10849-Z2) for any ZX2, so the face alone doesn't prove an S/R.
4. **Rear disc brakes** [Confirmed]: Look through the rear wheels. Standard Escorts of the era have drums.
5. **Blue valve cover** [2000 cars]: Easy to fake with paint, so treat it as a supporting clue. 1999 cars reportedly kept the black cover and had the Roush intake tube instead of the Iceman.
6. **B&M shifter, S/R knob and boot** [Confirmed]: Short throw feel and the S/R branded knob.
7. **Borla muffler, Eibach springs** [Confirmed]: Check part stamps under the car and on the coils.
8. **Window sticker or build sheet** [Best proof]: The S/R package appears as a line item. One owner's sticker also shows the codes SVC-PTSE and PROGRAM PVP.

## VIN positions

- **1–3 · 3FA**: Built in Mexico, Ford passenger car
- **8 · 3**: Engine code for the 2.0L Zetec DOHC
- **10 · X / Y**: X is 1999, Y is 2000
- **11 · R**: Assembly plant code (Hermosillo)

The VIN shows a 1999–2000 ZX2 with the right engine, but it does not record the S/R package. Use the physical checklist and paperwork to confirm. [VIN decode based on standard Ford coding; to be checked against a decoder]

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Source: https://zx2ms.com/wiki/sr/identify (ZX2 Motorsports wiki). Questions or corrections: admin@zx2ms.com.