ESCORT RS COSWORTH

TECH SPEC

MADE BETWEEN

1992 to 1996

POWER

227bhp @ 6250rpm

TORQUE 224Ib.ft @3500rpm 0-60MPH 5.7 seconds

TOP SPEED 140mph ENGINE 1993cc four-cylinder 16V YBT/YBP, 200 block, Weber-Marelli or EEC IV engine management, Garrett T3/T04B or T25 turbo

TRANSMISSION Four-wheel drive, MT75 five-speed manual, viscous coupling front and limited-slip viscous coupling rear differentials

BRAKES 278mm discs (front), 273mm discs (rear), ABS

SUSPENSION Gas dampers, coil springs, 28mm/22mm anti-roll bar front/rear

WHEELS AND TYRES 8x16in alloys, 205/45 ZR16 tyres

INTERIOR Sports or Recaro front seats with Hexagon or optional leather trim, auxiliary gauges in pod

EXTERIOR Escort three-door on shortened Sierra 4x4 floorpan, aero pack including front splitter and whale tail (delete option)

HISTORY

It wasn’t designed to be a circuit racer but the Escort RS Cosworth is a motorsport legend, built to go rallying and subsequently successful in every form of competition.

The Escort RS Cosworth took over from the Sapphire Cosworth 4x4 as Ford’s high-profile performance car, using most of the Sapphire’s ( shortened) floorpan mated to a hugely-revised Mk5 Escort bodyshell. There were more than 400 unique components, and half the body panels were new.

Mechanically, the Sapphire’s MT75based four-wheel- drive transmission coupled up to a mildly tweaked Cosworth engine; now codenamed YBT, it produced 227bhp thanks to an enlarged T3/ T04B turbo. Today, these early Escort Cosworths are referred to as big-turbo models.

Initially, there were three trim levels: Motorsport, Standard and Luxury. The basicspec Motorsport soon disappeared, but the limited- edition ( of 200) Monte Carlo appeared in February 1994.

June 1994 saw the introduction of the small-turbo Escort RS Cosworth, featuring reworked YBP engine with T25 turbo, EEC-IV management and 217bhp.

Death came to the Cosworth in 1996 but tuners continued to improve the formula, pursuing figures of 800bhp-plus for the ultimate track weapons.