Ford Escort RS Cosworth – Driving An Icon

There are cars that capture the imagination of a generation. These cars excite, they inspire and they captivate. They become automotive points of fixation that we can’t get enough of, and furthermore, they go on to maintain this throughout the years. 

There have been many cars that have had this effect on us. There was the E Type Jaguar, the Ferrari F40 and Lamborghini Countach. Cars that were the literal poster children for a generation. You know what we’re talking about. We’re willing to bet at least one of you reading this had the red-framed pictures of ‘80s supercars on your childhood bedroom walls. 

Given the nature of those cars, you’d think that a car from a ‘work a day’ brand like Ford would have no place amongst them. That’s where you’re wrong though, because there’s one that did, and still does in fact. And that car is the mighty Ford Escort RS Cosworth. A wide-arched, big-winged animal of a car. Yes, we had the equally big-winged Sierra RS Cosworth before it, but the Sierra lacked the visual punch of the Escort. It was good, but it wasn’t a Ford Cosworth in its ultimate form. That was the Escort. 

Built as a homologation model to satisfy Group A in the early ‘90s, the Escort RS Cosworth was actually not an Escort at all. Ford needed the car to be all-wheel drive if it was going to be competitive on the stages. The Escort in normal road trim was only front-wheel drive, and that wasn’t going to cut it. Ford could have put a transmission tunnel in there along with a driven rear axle, but this seemed like a lot of work. 

By the time the Escort RS Cosworth entered development, Ford had already mastered the all-wheel drive side of things with the Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth. So, Ford decided the best course of action would be to turn the Escort upside down, scoop out the floor and the innards akin to some sort of automotive avocado, and then stuff it full of Sierra floorpan and running gear, albeit a bit shorter so it would fit. Crude, but it worked. 

The Sierra’s floorpan brought with it a wider track. This meant the humble Escort had to get down to the gym and beef up. Wider, vented front arches were developed, as were wider rear hips. The front bumper grew, gaining a deep chin spoiler as it did so. And of course, to keep the Escort RS Cosworth stable at high speed, it grew that massive rear wing. The ‘whale tail’ if you will. 

The Escort RS Cosworth was a Sierra stuffed into a smaller package, but that was no bad thing. All-wheel drive, that turbocharged YB four-cylinder engine with Cosworth developed 16-valve head kicked with 224bhp, that sharp five-speed manual ‘box. Oh, this was a proper bit of kit. Something Ford was all too keen to prove on the muddy stages of the World Rally Championship. 

The Escort RS Cosworth was helmed by drivers such as François Delecour, Carlos Sainz and Tommi Makinen, all of whom saw victory in the Escort. With Frenchman Patrick Bernardini behind the wheel, the Escort RS Cosworth won the 1996 Monte Carlo Rally. Impressive machine, then. 

But what’s it like to drive one on the road? What’s it like to get behind the wheel of a childhood hero and be in control? Handily, our Editor, Chris Pollitt, has been lucky enough to do exactly that. So Chris, over to you. 

I have long adored the Ford Escort RS Cosworth. I love the Sierra version, but that came out when I was a toddler, so it sort of passed me by. The Escort, however, appeared right in the middle of my formative years, and as such, it had my attention. 

I think it’s the perverse nature of the Escort RS Cosworth that gets people. And by that, I mean the fact that it looks so familiar without looking familiar at all. You know it’s an Escort, The lines give that away. But it’s wider, it’s lower, it’s angrier. That spoiler is comical, but in a captivating way. The wheels are a dished work of art. The Escort RS Cosworth is, in my opinion, an exceptionally handsome car. It’s the weedy kid that found the gym. It’s a beefed up, solid version of what is normally timid and slow. I love it for that. 

When you slide into an Escort RS Cosworth, however, things change. The deep Recaro seats are bloody lovely, but other than that it’s all normal Escort stuff bar the addition of a gauge pod on the top of the dash. And normal Escort stuff of this era is not good. It’s tinny, the plastics are horrible, it’s not screwed together particularly well. Oh dear. 

Key in the ignition. Turn it. Crank the car into life. The interior, all of a sudden, doesn’t matter. This doesn’t sound like the 1.4LX Escort your neighbour had. It sounds angry, with a bassy, deep tone on idle. Blip the throttle – a proper, mechanical throttle, none of this fly-by-wire nonsense – and it snarls and growls. It’s proper. 

Press the heavy clutch down, which seems to be in a slightly unnatural position in the Escort due to the increased size of the transmission tunnel, and slot the stick into first. All is well, the car leaves with a gentle and sedate shuffle into action. Second gear, build the revs up and… oh, not a lot is happening. This is… this is quite slow, actually. I know 224bhp isn’t a lot by today… AND THEN THE TURBO KICKS IN AND THIS THING HOOKS UP AND GOES. 

The ‘90s was the era of turbo lag, and the Escort has it. All of it. But man alive, when it comes on boost all hell breaks loose. Yes, it’s only 224bhp, but it’s a light car by today’s standards, so it’s more than enough. Keep it in the sweet spot, build the power, third gear, back into the boost. Crumbs. It makes another spirited lunge for the horizon. This is mega, but I’m running out of road. Time to see how it deals with bends.

In a nutshell, it swallows to bends. Brake in, power out, more power and the back end kicks out, keep it on boost though or you’re going into a ditch. Be brave, have faith in it, foot down and wind the power in, straighten up, back into third, then fourth, we’re going some now. 

The next set of bends rapidly approaches. I decide to test the brakes out and leave it late. Heavy on the brakes, the Escort doesn’t fight or unsettle. More brakes, downshift, back on the power, back end slides out again ever so. Back up through the gears. I feel like a driving god, but in reality it’s all the car. 

Off the track and into traffic, I have to behave, but the Escort doesn’t mind. In fact, it’s remarkably civil and quiet. Comfortable, too. Yes, the interior has all the build quality of an Ikea wardrobe bought off the Facebook marketplace, but that’s not the point. The point is to drive this car, not look at its interior. And driving it is an absolute, pure, unadulterated joy.

I can’t lie, I was apprehensive about driving the Escort RS Cosworth. It was and still is my automotive childhood hero, and the thought of having that image shattered by a bad driving experience was enough to keep me away from the driver’s seat for many years. I’m glad I finally gave in though, because the Escort RS Cosworth is a masterstroke of power and engineering, even if it is as well appointed as a tin shed.

Has this inspired you to take the plunge and bite the Escort RS Cosworth bullet? If it has, let us tempt you with the cars currently available on Car & Classic.