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hi there, I have been working on a written history of the cossie over the last few weeks. below is the copy if everyone can take a look at what i have written and add or correct the copy as they see fit as you all know your cars inside out! There are some ? marks in the text where is dont know what to put in there but i am sure there are owners who can assist
many thanks
tony
Throughout the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s, Ford enjoyed enormous success on the international rallying stage with its legendary range of Escort cars which included the Mexico, RS1600 and very successful RS2000. Indeed, it was during this twenty year period that rallying relied heavily on what would now be considered as rather primitive mechanical engineering, having a dependency on developing as much horse power as possible from relatively small non turbo-charged powerplants which put a onus on more superior car control from the driver. Having realised that they were no longer competitive in this field of motorsport, Ford introduced the Sierra RS Cosworth in 1983. Spearheaded by Head of Motorsport Stuart Turner, Ford collaborated with their long term partner Cosworth Engineering to produce a engine capable of putting Ford back at the top of international rallying. Codenamed YBB, this engine is now more affectionately known as the Pinto and Cosworth would develop this 16-valve, twin cam engine to produce over 200 BHP in road going form and over 300+ BHP in competition specification. Three years later the Sierra was homologated for international rallying but struggled thereafter to produce results due to its cumbersome size and two wheel drive system. With Audi and Lancia dominating the WRC with their all wheel drive cars, Ford scrapped the 2-door Sierra RS Cosworth in favour of the 4 door Sierra RS Cosworth 4WD, which this time had the superior Ferguson four wheel drive system and two integral viscous couplings. Featuring a uprated block, bigger Garrett T03 turbocharger and bigger intercooler, this car became competitive against its rivals, but not even this car could satisfy the demands placed upon it from Ford’s management putting the blame once again down its sheer size and weight. Following the decision to terminate the Sierra WRC project, Ford Motorsport turned to the Escort for inspiration in solving their lack of success on the international rally stage, a place where they had achieved so much success over so many years. In Mk 5 trim, apart from the RS2000, there was no high performance derivative of this city runaround in existence which had four wheel drive or a turbo charged engine. So by late 1988, Ford made the decision to produce a new variation based on the hum drum Escort model. This new car would attain iconic status amongst performance car purists and would become known as the Escort RS Cosworth.
Ford knew they had a great engine in the highly successful YBG variant from the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, but knew they had to build a totally new car based around the mainstream Ford Escort road car. Their master plan was to fit the engine and drivetrain from the Sierra into a strengthened Escort chassis and bodyshell, but quickly realised to their dismay that this was not possible, yet one saving grace was that the basic floorpan and suspension setup from the XR4x4, albeit shortened significantly to accommodate the Cosworth engine and gearbox, could be adapted to create the complete package that Ford were looking for. Two of Ford’s top engineering boffins, Rod Mansfield and John Wheeler from Ford’s SVO department would be responsible for transforming the Escort into the fire breathing Autobahn express we see today, as they had been responsible for many of Ford’s high performance cars including the mighty RS200 supercar. With the assistance of Stephen Harper at MGA Developments in Coventry the basic form of the original car was retained, yet cleverly re-sculptured to accommodate the wider track of 1490mm and lower stance through the design of the flared wheelarches, front and rear bumpers and of course iconic large rear wing. Wider air intakes in the front bumper and large louvres in the bonnet were crucial in allowing air to flow through the entire engine compartment to assist in cooling the high revving engine. The lowered stance meant the car was 1405mm in height which assisted in improving the car’s overall centre of gravity to provide superb, well balanced road holding characteristics in all conditions. Indeed, even though the Escorts doors, roof, hatchback and glass were recogniseable, the front and rear wings, bonnet and other major pressings were all changed resulting in around 400 new and unique components added to the existing design. With the assistance of the large rear wing, exceptional high speed, straight line stability was achieved through improving the downforce on the rear of the car with over 200 hours spent in Ford's German wind tunnel testing facility in Merkenich, all this aerodynamic streamlining meant the car had a overall drag coefficient of 0.380, which placed it in the illustrious company of cars three times its value. As there was no facility on any of Ford’s Escort production lines to accommodate the manufacture this new model, Ford called upon specialist coachwork builders Karmann, who had also assembled the Merkur XR4i model on behalf of Ford and through a dedicated team of highly skilled technicians, build each Escort RS Cosworth at their dedicated factory in Rheine, Germany. Ford had to produce a initial production run of 2500 “homologation specials” in order to gain FIA accreditation to enter the World Rally Championship (WRC), but this number was to eventually swell to around 7,100 until the end of its production life in 1996. From conception to the final car rolling off the production line changes were made to the engine management system and a new turbocharger were fitted. Permanent four wheel drive with a 34/66% front/rear split came courtesy of an uprated five speed gearbox as used in the Sierra Cosworth. Recaro sports seats came as a standard fitment. Later production models were available without the oversize tail spoiler although by far the majority were still ordered with it. To satisfy its non European clientele, a tiny number of Escort RS Cosworths were unofficially imported into the United States, where it was considered to be one of the greatest performance Ford cars of all time.
At the heart of every great car lies a engine capable of producing outstanding performance figures and the Escort RS Cosworth was no exception. Having made the decision to transplant the Cosworth powerplant from the Sierra into the Escort, the Ford engineers quickly established a platform which would prove as successful as its older brother on both the road and rally stages around the world. With the engine being rotated 90 degrees to a longitudinally mounted configuration, this meant that the drive from the engine to the gearbox and through propshaft could go straight to the rear axle without any loss in the cars performance and in addition meant it could be fitted snuggly into the compact nature of the Escorts shape and construction, whilst also improving the car's overall weight distribution. Following its ‘homologation’ into the Group A category of the WRC, 1992 saw Ford produce its first initial production run of 2500 Escort RS Cosworths in which they featured the oversized Garrett T3/T04B turbocharger (being a hybrid unit consisting of a Garrett T04B compressor wheel combined with a Garrett T3 turbine, also known as T35) as used in the RS200 Group B rally car. These units suffered from significant turbo lag due to the huge inertia introduced by the T35 unit when combined with the detuned nature of their competition derived engine, yet offered ample power in its final rally specification to satisfy even the most hardened of rally drivers. The engine itself featured a 4 in-line cylinder configuration which had Mahle forged pistons and heat treated steel crankshaft and conrods. The block was made from cast-iron with the cylinder head being cast from aluminium and light alloy. Engine capacity was measured at 1993cc and was bored out to 90.8mmx77.0mm with a compression ratio of 8.0:1. This durable YBT ‘pinto’ derived engine also featured twin belt driven overhead camshafts with a 45 degree ‘V’ layout for the four valves per cylinder. A lightened flywheel and a Behr stage two intercooler which featured air to water and air to air capability completed the additional features of this fantastic powerplant. Following this initial build number, 1994 saw Ford produce a second generation ‘high torque turbo’ version which became a more civilized car than the first. The most significant difference in this car was that it featured the smaller T25 turbocharger (which used a T2 turbine and T03 compressor wheel) giving the car a more responsive 0.8 bar maximum pressure boost power delivery lower down the rev range. This engine was codenamed YBP and when combined with the new Weber-Marelli IAW P8 engine management system which replaced the Ford EEC IV system produced a significant improvement in the engines performance and longevity. This new ignition system featured just one coil per cylinder compared to the static ignition system found in the original version. Bigger oil projectors were placed under the piston heads for cooling purposes and a new engine head design was applied. By applying all these modifications, Ford hoped to be able to sell more cars since in the HTT version the turbo lag time was dramatically reduced as compared to the T35 based version and the cars were easier to drive in everyday traffic conditions. All this new technology provided impressive engine performance figures with a maximum power figure of 227 BHP at 6250 RPM, with a maximum torque of 304 Nm at 3500 RPM. Even more impressive was its ability to sprint from 0-60 MPH in just under 6.2 seconds and hit a top speed of 140 MPH.
The underpinnings of the Escort RS Cosworth’s chassis and running gear can in part be attributed to the Sapphire RS Cosworth in that the engineering team took much of its main chassis structure and ‘condensed’ it into the size and shape of the Escort platform. With the Sapphires shortened floorpan contributing to the existence of a deep transmission tunnel, this assisted to improving the Escort’s already rigid upper body structure to create a even stiffer platform for the installation of the Sapphire derived all round suspension. This suspension was made up of MacPherson struts on the front with semi-trailing arms on the rear with all featuring coil springs and Fichtel & Sachs gas filled dampers. A 28mm anti-roll bar was fitted to the front, which was also connected to the strut and subsequently used as a secondary control arm for stiffer cornering capability. The MacPherson struts and Fichtel & Sachs gas filled dampers were taken over onto the rear and used transversely mounted trailing arms for optimum wheel control. The whole rear suspension structure was made from steel tubing and was connected to the car’s chassis through seam welded steel sheets which were then fitted onto the chassis by rubber bushes. This setup provided exceptional handling characteristics in all driving conditions. Ford installed its MT75 five-speed, fully synchronised manual gearbox with single dry plate power assisted clutch to the Escort RS Cosworth, as it provided the perfect combination to transfer the extremely high revolutions from the engine through the four wheel drive system onto the road. when the throttle was applied, drive travelled through the long centrally jointed propshaft to the rear differential and forward via a shorter propshaft alongside the right hand side of the gearbox to the front differential. There are viscous couplings for the centre and rear differentials and the nominal front/rear torque split is 34/66 placing a bias more on the rear rather than front of the car, but this can change as grip levels are required at either end of the car. Stopping this rally express was a major consideration for the Ford engineers and after much consideration decided to install 278mm ventilated discs with floating 1 pot calipers to the front and 273mm ventilated discs with floating 1 pot calipers to the rear. The Teves 5 sensor ABS system was also installed as standard. These were married to five spoke 8Jx16 inch Ford alloys wheels specially designed for the Escort RS Cosworth and these were covered with Pirelli P-Zero 225/45 ZR 16 tyres.
Inside, the Escort RS Cosworth looked similar to its lesser siblings in the Escort model lineup, but differed slightly to reflect its sporting prowess. The front drivers and passenger Recaro seats were designed to hold each occupant in place with body hugging side bolsters in the upper backrest and lower part of the seat. These and the rear seats were covered in a hexagonal patterned cloth material which had the Recaro logo’s embroidered into the backrest. Both were adjustable for foreward/aft and height movement to secure the best possible driving position during spirited driving conditions. Ford also offered a full black leather option at extra cost. The ??mm diameter, three spoke, leather covered steering wheel contained the SRS airbag protection system which also had height adjustment capability. Two side stalks provided functionality for the front and rear wipers and headlight/indicator operation. The dashboard contained a large central speedometer and to its left was the rev counter and to its right were two smaller gauges for fuel quantity and engine temperature. All four dials were white faced with black numerals and red rotating needles which illuminated when the side lights were switched on. Also contained here were other lighted instruments that provided the driver with vehicle related information. The main front facia was made from a durable moulded plastic material and contained a separate three gauge binnacle on the top that housed information on turbo output; bar pressure, ??, ?? with each gauge being similar in appearance to those contained within the main dials on the dashboard. It also housed a large SRS airbag for passenger protection. Below this was the centre consol which housed the blaupunkt cassette radio and optional single CD player, ventilation/heating/air controls and digital clock with the lower portion featuring the leather covered gear lever and electric window and rear boot release buttons.
The Ford Escort RS Cosworth is indeed a exquisite piece of automotive engineering, draped in automotive pedigree and motorsport heritage. From its outrageous good looks to the way it treats its highways with utter contempt, the Escort RS Cosworth will continue to stir the emotions of everyone who is fortunate enough to see it. With numbers diminishing year on year from the 7100 examples that Ford produced by the end of 1998, this icon of performance motoring will continue to command a prime spot in any future classic car collection and cementing Ford’s place in automotive falklaw for decades to come. But for the fortunate few who parted with their £25,000 back in the early nineties and currently own a mint example, their redemption is knowing that they are driving one of motorings true greats, a car that set new standards in performance motoring whilst continuing the RS bloodline from the company with the oval badge. Ford will never produce another car like the Escort RS Cosworth which today makes it as desirable as any car in today’s marketplace and when you combine its remarkable success on the WRC and the way the car was conceived and manufactured in such a short space of time, makes it one of the most iconic cars of all time, the likes of which we will never see again.
many thanks
tony
Throughout the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80’s, Ford enjoyed enormous success on the international rallying stage with its legendary range of Escort cars which included the Mexico, RS1600 and very successful RS2000. Indeed, it was during this twenty year period that rallying relied heavily on what would now be considered as rather primitive mechanical engineering, having a dependency on developing as much horse power as possible from relatively small non turbo-charged powerplants which put a onus on more superior car control from the driver. Having realised that they were no longer competitive in this field of motorsport, Ford introduced the Sierra RS Cosworth in 1983. Spearheaded by Head of Motorsport Stuart Turner, Ford collaborated with their long term partner Cosworth Engineering to produce a engine capable of putting Ford back at the top of international rallying. Codenamed YBB, this engine is now more affectionately known as the Pinto and Cosworth would develop this 16-valve, twin cam engine to produce over 200 BHP in road going form and over 300+ BHP in competition specification. Three years later the Sierra was homologated for international rallying but struggled thereafter to produce results due to its cumbersome size and two wheel drive system. With Audi and Lancia dominating the WRC with their all wheel drive cars, Ford scrapped the 2-door Sierra RS Cosworth in favour of the 4 door Sierra RS Cosworth 4WD, which this time had the superior Ferguson four wheel drive system and two integral viscous couplings. Featuring a uprated block, bigger Garrett T03 turbocharger and bigger intercooler, this car became competitive against its rivals, but not even this car could satisfy the demands placed upon it from Ford’s management putting the blame once again down its sheer size and weight. Following the decision to terminate the Sierra WRC project, Ford Motorsport turned to the Escort for inspiration in solving their lack of success on the international rally stage, a place where they had achieved so much success over so many years. In Mk 5 trim, apart from the RS2000, there was no high performance derivative of this city runaround in existence which had four wheel drive or a turbo charged engine. So by late 1988, Ford made the decision to produce a new variation based on the hum drum Escort model. This new car would attain iconic status amongst performance car purists and would become known as the Escort RS Cosworth.
Ford knew they had a great engine in the highly successful YBG variant from the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, but knew they had to build a totally new car based around the mainstream Ford Escort road car. Their master plan was to fit the engine and drivetrain from the Sierra into a strengthened Escort chassis and bodyshell, but quickly realised to their dismay that this was not possible, yet one saving grace was that the basic floorpan and suspension setup from the XR4x4, albeit shortened significantly to accommodate the Cosworth engine and gearbox, could be adapted to create the complete package that Ford were looking for. Two of Ford’s top engineering boffins, Rod Mansfield and John Wheeler from Ford’s SVO department would be responsible for transforming the Escort into the fire breathing Autobahn express we see today, as they had been responsible for many of Ford’s high performance cars including the mighty RS200 supercar. With the assistance of Stephen Harper at MGA Developments in Coventry the basic form of the original car was retained, yet cleverly re-sculptured to accommodate the wider track of 1490mm and lower stance through the design of the flared wheelarches, front and rear bumpers and of course iconic large rear wing. Wider air intakes in the front bumper and large louvres in the bonnet were crucial in allowing air to flow through the entire engine compartment to assist in cooling the high revving engine. The lowered stance meant the car was 1405mm in height which assisted in improving the car’s overall centre of gravity to provide superb, well balanced road holding characteristics in all conditions. Indeed, even though the Escorts doors, roof, hatchback and glass were recogniseable, the front and rear wings, bonnet and other major pressings were all changed resulting in around 400 new and unique components added to the existing design. With the assistance of the large rear wing, exceptional high speed, straight line stability was achieved through improving the downforce on the rear of the car with over 200 hours spent in Ford's German wind tunnel testing facility in Merkenich, all this aerodynamic streamlining meant the car had a overall drag coefficient of 0.380, which placed it in the illustrious company of cars three times its value. As there was no facility on any of Ford’s Escort production lines to accommodate the manufacture this new model, Ford called upon specialist coachwork builders Karmann, who had also assembled the Merkur XR4i model on behalf of Ford and through a dedicated team of highly skilled technicians, build each Escort RS Cosworth at their dedicated factory in Rheine, Germany. Ford had to produce a initial production run of 2500 “homologation specials” in order to gain FIA accreditation to enter the World Rally Championship (WRC), but this number was to eventually swell to around 7,100 until the end of its production life in 1996. From conception to the final car rolling off the production line changes were made to the engine management system and a new turbocharger were fitted. Permanent four wheel drive with a 34/66% front/rear split came courtesy of an uprated five speed gearbox as used in the Sierra Cosworth. Recaro sports seats came as a standard fitment. Later production models were available without the oversize tail spoiler although by far the majority were still ordered with it. To satisfy its non European clientele, a tiny number of Escort RS Cosworths were unofficially imported into the United States, where it was considered to be one of the greatest performance Ford cars of all time.
At the heart of every great car lies a engine capable of producing outstanding performance figures and the Escort RS Cosworth was no exception. Having made the decision to transplant the Cosworth powerplant from the Sierra into the Escort, the Ford engineers quickly established a platform which would prove as successful as its older brother on both the road and rally stages around the world. With the engine being rotated 90 degrees to a longitudinally mounted configuration, this meant that the drive from the engine to the gearbox and through propshaft could go straight to the rear axle without any loss in the cars performance and in addition meant it could be fitted snuggly into the compact nature of the Escorts shape and construction, whilst also improving the car's overall weight distribution. Following its ‘homologation’ into the Group A category of the WRC, 1992 saw Ford produce its first initial production run of 2500 Escort RS Cosworths in which they featured the oversized Garrett T3/T04B turbocharger (being a hybrid unit consisting of a Garrett T04B compressor wheel combined with a Garrett T3 turbine, also known as T35) as used in the RS200 Group B rally car. These units suffered from significant turbo lag due to the huge inertia introduced by the T35 unit when combined with the detuned nature of their competition derived engine, yet offered ample power in its final rally specification to satisfy even the most hardened of rally drivers. The engine itself featured a 4 in-line cylinder configuration which had Mahle forged pistons and heat treated steel crankshaft and conrods. The block was made from cast-iron with the cylinder head being cast from aluminium and light alloy. Engine capacity was measured at 1993cc and was bored out to 90.8mmx77.0mm with a compression ratio of 8.0:1. This durable YBT ‘pinto’ derived engine also featured twin belt driven overhead camshafts with a 45 degree ‘V’ layout for the four valves per cylinder. A lightened flywheel and a Behr stage two intercooler which featured air to water and air to air capability completed the additional features of this fantastic powerplant. Following this initial build number, 1994 saw Ford produce a second generation ‘high torque turbo’ version which became a more civilized car than the first. The most significant difference in this car was that it featured the smaller T25 turbocharger (which used a T2 turbine and T03 compressor wheel) giving the car a more responsive 0.8 bar maximum pressure boost power delivery lower down the rev range. This engine was codenamed YBP and when combined with the new Weber-Marelli IAW P8 engine management system which replaced the Ford EEC IV system produced a significant improvement in the engines performance and longevity. This new ignition system featured just one coil per cylinder compared to the static ignition system found in the original version. Bigger oil projectors were placed under the piston heads for cooling purposes and a new engine head design was applied. By applying all these modifications, Ford hoped to be able to sell more cars since in the HTT version the turbo lag time was dramatically reduced as compared to the T35 based version and the cars were easier to drive in everyday traffic conditions. All this new technology provided impressive engine performance figures with a maximum power figure of 227 BHP at 6250 RPM, with a maximum torque of 304 Nm at 3500 RPM. Even more impressive was its ability to sprint from 0-60 MPH in just under 6.2 seconds and hit a top speed of 140 MPH.
The underpinnings of the Escort RS Cosworth’s chassis and running gear can in part be attributed to the Sapphire RS Cosworth in that the engineering team took much of its main chassis structure and ‘condensed’ it into the size and shape of the Escort platform. With the Sapphires shortened floorpan contributing to the existence of a deep transmission tunnel, this assisted to improving the Escort’s already rigid upper body structure to create a even stiffer platform for the installation of the Sapphire derived all round suspension. This suspension was made up of MacPherson struts on the front with semi-trailing arms on the rear with all featuring coil springs and Fichtel & Sachs gas filled dampers. A 28mm anti-roll bar was fitted to the front, which was also connected to the strut and subsequently used as a secondary control arm for stiffer cornering capability. The MacPherson struts and Fichtel & Sachs gas filled dampers were taken over onto the rear and used transversely mounted trailing arms for optimum wheel control. The whole rear suspension structure was made from steel tubing and was connected to the car’s chassis through seam welded steel sheets which were then fitted onto the chassis by rubber bushes. This setup provided exceptional handling characteristics in all driving conditions. Ford installed its MT75 five-speed, fully synchronised manual gearbox with single dry plate power assisted clutch to the Escort RS Cosworth, as it provided the perfect combination to transfer the extremely high revolutions from the engine through the four wheel drive system onto the road. when the throttle was applied, drive travelled through the long centrally jointed propshaft to the rear differential and forward via a shorter propshaft alongside the right hand side of the gearbox to the front differential. There are viscous couplings for the centre and rear differentials and the nominal front/rear torque split is 34/66 placing a bias more on the rear rather than front of the car, but this can change as grip levels are required at either end of the car. Stopping this rally express was a major consideration for the Ford engineers and after much consideration decided to install 278mm ventilated discs with floating 1 pot calipers to the front and 273mm ventilated discs with floating 1 pot calipers to the rear. The Teves 5 sensor ABS system was also installed as standard. These were married to five spoke 8Jx16 inch Ford alloys wheels specially designed for the Escort RS Cosworth and these were covered with Pirelli P-Zero 225/45 ZR 16 tyres.
Inside, the Escort RS Cosworth looked similar to its lesser siblings in the Escort model lineup, but differed slightly to reflect its sporting prowess. The front drivers and passenger Recaro seats were designed to hold each occupant in place with body hugging side bolsters in the upper backrest and lower part of the seat. These and the rear seats were covered in a hexagonal patterned cloth material which had the Recaro logo’s embroidered into the backrest. Both were adjustable for foreward/aft and height movement to secure the best possible driving position during spirited driving conditions. Ford also offered a full black leather option at extra cost. The ??mm diameter, three spoke, leather covered steering wheel contained the SRS airbag protection system which also had height adjustment capability. Two side stalks provided functionality for the front and rear wipers and headlight/indicator operation. The dashboard contained a large central speedometer and to its left was the rev counter and to its right were two smaller gauges for fuel quantity and engine temperature. All four dials were white faced with black numerals and red rotating needles which illuminated when the side lights were switched on. Also contained here were other lighted instruments that provided the driver with vehicle related information. The main front facia was made from a durable moulded plastic material and contained a separate three gauge binnacle on the top that housed information on turbo output; bar pressure, ??, ?? with each gauge being similar in appearance to those contained within the main dials on the dashboard. It also housed a large SRS airbag for passenger protection. Below this was the centre consol which housed the blaupunkt cassette radio and optional single CD player, ventilation/heating/air controls and digital clock with the lower portion featuring the leather covered gear lever and electric window and rear boot release buttons.
The Ford Escort RS Cosworth is indeed a exquisite piece of automotive engineering, draped in automotive pedigree and motorsport heritage. From its outrageous good looks to the way it treats its highways with utter contempt, the Escort RS Cosworth will continue to stir the emotions of everyone who is fortunate enough to see it. With numbers diminishing year on year from the 7100 examples that Ford produced by the end of 1998, this icon of performance motoring will continue to command a prime spot in any future classic car collection and cementing Ford’s place in automotive falklaw for decades to come. But for the fortunate few who parted with their £25,000 back in the early nineties and currently own a mint example, their redemption is knowing that they are driving one of motorings true greats, a car that set new standards in performance motoring whilst continuing the RS bloodline from the company with the oval badge. Ford will never produce another car like the Escort RS Cosworth which today makes it as desirable as any car in today’s marketplace and when you combine its remarkable success on the WRC and the way the car was conceived and manufactured in such a short space of time, makes it one of the most iconic cars of all time, the likes of which we will never see again.
good read that
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