Ford Escort RS Cosworth: Why Ford Faked Their Most Iconic Car

THE GREATEST FAKE FORD: THE ESCORT RS COSWORTH STORYMy New Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GP9TKPBH (History Written by Losers)Video Description:By the early 1990s, the golden age of unrestricted Group B rallying was dead, replaced by tamer Group A regulations that forced manufacturers to race mass-produced road cars. Ford’s only viable weapon was the Sierra RS Cosworth, a car that dominated smooth circuits but was simply too massive for the mud and tight hairpins of rally stages. The Sierra was a D-segment executive saloon, nearly two feet longer than the nimble Lancia Delta Integrale. Ford needed the compact size of their new Mk V Escort, but the standard Escort was a front-wheel-drive economy car with absolutely no room for a longitudinal engine or a complex all-wheel-drive system.To solve this, Ford's Special Vehicle Engineering team committed to one of the most audacious Frankenstein projects in automotive history. They took the Sierra Sapphire 4x4, literally cut it apart with a saw, shortened the floorpan, and dressed it up in a bespoke Escort costume. What followed was a beautifully orchestrated heartbreak: a purpose-built rally weapon that failed to win the championship it was designed for, but accidentally became an immortal street legend.In this deep dive, we explore The Cosworth Illusion:The Structural Surgery: How SVE engineers and German coachbuilder Karmann mated a shortened Sierra floorpan to modified Escort bulkheads. Discover the beautiful irony that this fake "Escort" actually had a longer wheelbase than the real mass-produced Escort.The Accountant's Wing: Designer Frank Stephenson originally penned a radical triple-decker "whale tail" wing inspired by the Red Baron's Fokker Dr.I triplane. Learn how Ford's financial controllers killed the middle blade to save manufacturing costs, leaving 25 pounds of crucial downforce on the table.The Championship Heartbreak: The tragic WRC campaigns of the mid-90s. From François Delecour's devastating off-stage road accident in a friend's Ferrari to a crushing wheel bearing failure on the penultimate stage of the Tour de Corse that handed victory to Lancia.The Working Man's Supercar: While the rally program stumbled, the road-going RS Cosworth could hit 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds, rivaling the contemporary Ferrari 348 for a fraction of the price.The Escort RS Cosworth was a monument to a specific era when manufacturers would literally saw a chassis in half just to win a trophy. Was this Frankenstein creation the greatest rally homologation car ever built? Let’s settle it in the comments.Subscribe for more deep dives into automotive history and future tech.Follow me: http://x.com/jayhassett#FordEscort #Cosworth #AutomotiveHistory #TheCarNerd #WRC #Rally