Escort Cosworth
Discussion
Hi All,
Just a query about the Escort Cosworth. Does an unmolested , unmodified car still feel fast by todays crazy standards of uber Audi's and the surge in horsepower in cars in general?
Would be pleased to hear from owners. I remember driving one years ago when they first came out and it felt very quick albeit part of that was due to a wee bit of turbo lag which always , i find, makes cars feel faster than they actually are!
Thanks
SC
Just a query about the Escort Cosworth. Does an unmolested , unmodified car still feel fast by todays crazy standards of uber Audi's and the surge in horsepower in cars in general?
Would be pleased to hear from owners. I remember driving one years ago when they first came out and it felt very quick albeit part of that was due to a wee bit of turbo lag which always , i find, makes cars feel faster than they actually are!
Thanks
SC
NO 
Is the simple and truthful answer !
When they were conceived in the early nineties they were wild even though seriously de-tuned but still set a standard that many others were slow to compete with.
But a standard Escort Cosworth now would only really be a match for a reasonable modern GTI type car. However if you take the earlier big turbo version and take it to stage 3 and add into the mix some well conceived handling upgrades from someone of genius stature like Ahmed Bayjoo then that Escort Cosworth would outclass an E46 M3 for sure - as i've seen proved on more than one occasion
But of course at a stage 3 conversion you are only really scratching the surface of what the car is really capable of ! If you are prepared to put the money into it you can have an Escort Cosworth that will happily go toe to toe with far more exotic machinery - but don't expect it to be either civilised,practical,frugal or inconspicuous !!
Is the simple and truthful answer !When they were conceived in the early nineties they were wild even though seriously de-tuned but still set a standard that many others were slow to compete with.
But a standard Escort Cosworth now would only really be a match for a reasonable modern GTI type car. However if you take the earlier big turbo version and take it to stage 3 and add into the mix some well conceived handling upgrades from someone of genius stature like Ahmed Bayjoo then that Escort Cosworth would outclass an E46 M3 for sure - as i've seen proved on more than one occasion
But of course at a stage 3 conversion you are only really scratching the surface of what the car is really capable of ! If you are prepared to put the money into it you can have an Escort Cosworth that will happily go toe to toe with far more exotic machinery - but don't expect it to be either civilised,practical,frugal or inconspicuous !!
They feel unrefined, floaty and not that quick by today's standard where hot hatches are 200bhp NA or no-lag turbos running rock-hard suspension and low profile tyres. They are, however a sublime drive, although in outright speed the old Cossies can still do it with a few tweaks.
As for outright performance, you don't have to do much to them to make them go. My RS500 (intrinsically the same motor) runs a few light mods, around 330-340bhp but because of Ford build quality, err, I mean light weight
(mine weighs 1220kg) they go like hell. I guess the Escort's a bit heavier, but not much. I have dished out a pasting to cars that should be faster - a Griffith 500 and a V8 M3 have both been left trailing by the RS500.
I'd say that if you go in knowing that it's not going to feel super sharp then you'll have a whale of a time. Add in old-skool turbo lag (massive on the RS500) and it only accentuates the feeling of performance.
As for outright performance, you don't have to do much to them to make them go. My RS500 (intrinsically the same motor) runs a few light mods, around 330-340bhp but because of Ford build quality, err, I mean light weight
(mine weighs 1220kg) they go like hell. I guess the Escort's a bit heavier, but not much. I have dished out a pasting to cars that should be faster - a Griffith 500 and a V8 M3 have both been left trailing by the RS500.I'd say that if you go in knowing that it's not going to feel super sharp then you'll have a whale of a time. Add in old-skool turbo lag (massive on the RS500) and it only accentuates the feeling of performance.
GekkoRules said:
Hi All,
Just a query about the Escort Cosworth. Does an unmolested , unmodified car still feel fast by todays crazy standards of uber Audi's and the surge in horsepower in cars in general?
Would be pleased to hear from owners. I remember driving one years ago when they first came out and it felt very quick albeit part of that was due to a wee bit of turbo lag which always , i find, makes cars feel faster than they actually are!
Thanks
SC
When Chris Harris was at Autocar they ran the blue Escort Cosworth from the Ford collection ( the ST N-reg ) up against a Vauxhall Astra SRi Turbo ( the model that preceded the GSi ). I think the Vauxhall beat it off the mark but the Esort caught and passed it only for them both to top out at about 137mph. Standard, a lot of fwd turbo hot hatches would leave one in a straight line nowadays. With a few mods they can still be pretty respectable though as Roop intimates Just a query about the Escort Cosworth. Does an unmolested , unmodified car still feel fast by todays crazy standards of uber Audi's and the surge in horsepower in cars in general?
Would be pleased to hear from owners. I remember driving one years ago when they first came out and it felt very quick albeit part of that was due to a wee bit of turbo lag which always , i find, makes cars feel faster than they actually are!
Thanks
SC
A standard one, without question will feel, and be slow. I've had an early one for 7 1/2 years now, it's a great buzz driving one depsite not being as refined as newer cars. As already said 330bhp (stage 3) is very easy and cheap to achieve. That would be the best place to start. Mine was stage 3 when I got mine, then as things need replacing or the hunger for more power kicks in, just upgrade. After all these years it still puts a smile on my face, especially when leaving behind much more expensive and exotic machines.
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