The history of the Escort RS Cosworth started many years before
the first car of that specification was produced. The history of the Escort Cosworth
started at the same moment Ford decided to put a turbo onto the old trusty Pinto
block and install it in the Sierra RS Cosworth. That was back in 1984 and the
engine produced 204 hp. The Sierra
RS Cosworth was first produced in 1986 as an homologation special for rally. 5000
examples was required to get a car homologated for group A. It was not particularly
successful, mostly due to the lack of four wheel drive; no wins in group A rally.
But it did have a certain amount of success in touring car championships.
Then there was the Sierra RS500.Based on 500 examples of the Sierra RS Cosworth the RS 500 had more spoilers and 224hp. The extra airintake above the numberplate and the extra tip on the rear spoiler are the easiest way of distinguishing it from a standard Sierra Cosworth. Only twenty more hp was produced from the following additions: Garrett T4 turbocharger, much larger intercooler, 8 injectors (only 4 were used on the standard car), 9mm bigger intake manifold and thicker engine block walls. Probably Ford's most successful car to date it did win the only World touringcar championship that was ever held, and had 40 victories in row in the BTCC.
When the required 5000 examples of the three door Sierra RS Cosworth was produced
Ford felt that they needed a car with the same amount of power but with more
comfort and ability to carry the family too. The answer to these requirements
was the rear-wheel-drive Ford Sierra Saphire Cosworth. It used a standard 4
door sierra body with the the same engine,
suspension and drivetrain as the 3-door Sierra RS Cosworth. the body was modified
slightly from the standard Sierra with different airintakes, fog lights, and
a new lower lip on the front bumper. A small rear boot spoiler was also added
to counter aerodynamic lift at high speeds.
After the RS500 there was an empty slot in the Ford motorsport department. They
needed a new car to keep up with the Lancia Delta HF Integrale and the Audi
Quattro. This lead to the development of the 4-door Sierra RS Cosworth 4wd.
It looked very similar to the Saphire 2wd, but underneath the body the changes
very many. It had Ferguson 4 wheel drive system with two viscous couplers; one on the
center diff, the other on the rear diff. Torque split was 34% to the front and
66% to the
rear wheels. The engine was improved, having changed 80% of the parts compared
to the Saphire Cosworth. The changes included new modified RS500 block, stronger
head and stronger pistons with new gudgeon pin placement to decrease piston slap.
A new Garrett T03 turbo, new intake manifold and bigger intercooler was also
installed. This lead to a powerincrease of only 224hp, but much more was available
when tuning the engine. But none the less; it still did not fulfill Ford's
expectations. It did not score a single group A win in it's two years of rallying.
The reason the Sierra Saphire didn't produce any decent results was probably due to
it's weight and size. Ford simply needed a smaller car. The suitable model
for the time was the Escort.
But there was no Escort that could be homologated as a rallycar as it had to
have turbo
and four wheel drive. So a new variation of the Escort model had to be produced. Ford
knew they had a great engine in the YBG that sat in the the Sierra Saphire, so Ford's
master plan was to simply put the engine, drivetrain and suspension of the Sierra
Saphire 4wd
into a modified and strengthened Escort shell. But, to Ford's dismay I suppose, it
was simply not possible so a new chassis and body had to be built specifically for
the Escort RS Cosworth. After 400 new parts a new car was born: more than twice
as stiff and strong a standard Escort Chassis. The Escort Cosworth shares only 50% of
it's body panels with the standard Escort. The most prominent features of the new
body is: New hood with two vents helping in
the removal of hot air from the engine compartment. New wider front arches with air
exits from the engine in front of the doors. New wider rear wheelarches. New Front
bumper with huge airintakes and low front spoiler with adjustable splitter. New low
rear bumper. All this creates a car that not only counters the aerodynamic lift at
high speeds but creates downforce too. At 180km/h the downforce is 45N at the front,
with the splitter at it's middle position, and 190N at the rear.Ford did not have the space to build the Escort Cosworth, so the car was put together by Karmann in Germany. The production of the Escort Cosworth started on the 19th of February 1992.
The Escort RS Cosworth was Ford's new rallycar and was much more successful at it than it's earlier brothers; the Sierra Cosworth in two and four wheel drive versions. The total count of victories came to 8 in group A, and after the modifications that were made to the car to make it a WRC car, it scored two more victories.
In 1994, after the 2500 cars required for homologation were produced Ford put a "new", more civilized engine into the Escort Cosworth. The new engine is basically the same old engine in a new package. It has smaller turbo (Garrett T25) and another engine management system. This lead to more low-rew punch, but less boost available above 5500rpm. The new Escort RS Cosworth was produced until early in 1996 when EU put a new set of noise regulations for cars to work, and the Escort Cosworth couldn't pass those without modifications. For some reason Ford then decided to stop the production instead of changing the car so it would be within the new noise regulations. And that was the end to the Escort RS Cosworth. The last car rolled out of the factory on the 12th of January 1996. Then 7.145 Escort Cosworths had been produced.