Explain: Ford Escort Cosworth

[300bhp/ton]

Pommygranite said:

Remove the bling from any hot hatch/performance enhanced run of the mill car and of course they'll be visually nothing - that's the point!

Maybe, but a 205GTI doesn't really look hugely different to any other 205 (bar the rims), so removing the GTI visual bits makes almost no odds to how it looks.

On the other side of the coin is the Celica GT-4, it looks great. But then so does a regualr 2.0GT variant.

The Escort doesn't look great.

[jimmy the hat]

Hugo a Gogo said:

300bhp/ton said:

Hugo a Gogo said:

here's the whole quote, and what I responded



the Escort cossie does use a Sierra floorpan, the Z3 doesn't use an E30 floorpan

what is your point now?

That you are being difficult for no gain, back tracking and subtly altering your point

But please carry on

wtf?

how have I subtly altered anything or back-tracked?

You haven't, if anything 300bhp/ton has. Having seen how this has evolved, I think I'll give up beyond this point.

300bhp/ton said:

Is the engine not transverse in a non Cosworth Escort though? Anyhow while that's informative and interesting (which it is ), isn't that the complete opposite of supporting that it's just a Sierra in an Escort bodyshell re: the floorpan.

In your example non of the floor pan is used at all. And I suppose while thinking about it, if it's as simple as you say, why did Ford go the expense and hassle of not using the Escort floorpan from the standard model?

This is why I give up, I'm not in any way sure what question you're trying to ask or point you're trying to make. Are you high right now?

Anyway to get it back on track, I like them more now for nostalgia than I did at the time but I'd still have a 3dr Sierra Cosworth or GT4 in preference.

Cheers, Jim

[RJJ]

Cars like the escort cosworth, lancia delta integrale, celica gt4 are from childhood memories. There was a lot of cool Motorsport on tv then, touring cars, group a/b rally etc etc & the prospect of picking one of these up from your local dealer.

So to answer your question they evoke very fond memories.

The car could be a bag of nails & they say do not drive your childhood dream cars as they cannot live upto your expectations.

The only car I would ever contemplate buying from my childhood, is the Macca F1. I would not bat an eyelid about it, but I need to win the euromillions.

Edited by RJJ on Wednesday 7th November 12:19

[Hugo a Gogo]

from my own point of view, I never liked them at the time either

Escorts and all fast fords had such a naff reputation as boy racer cars

friend of a friend had rallycross one and a road one, and I had a little passenger ride in it (to a wedding, screeched into the churchyard with a handbrake turn!) but never drove one

[S1_RS]

300bhp/ton said:

PAUL500 said:

With reference to the sierra/escos floorpan, to give you an idea of the similarity you can take a 4x4 sierra cosworth, remove the entire engine, all ancillaries, gearbox, complete suspension front and rear,steering, differentials etc etc and simply bolt it straight into an escos shell with no modification at all and it will all fit and work. All that would need altering is a slight shortening of the propshaft. Thats exactly what a lot of the rally teams in fact did, they bought a new bare lightweight escos shell from Ford and swapped it all across from there existing 4x4 sierra cosworth.

Is the engine not transverse in a non Cosworth Escort though? Anyhow while that's informative and interesting (which it is ), isn't that the complete opposite of supporting that it's just a Sierra in an Escort bodyshell re: the floorpan.

In your example non of the floor pan is used at all. And I suppose while thinking about it, if it's as simple as you say, why did Ford go the expense and hassle of not using the Escort floorpan from the standard model?

If you re-read Paul's post you will see he says "Escos" a shortened version of Escort Cosworth. He is not suggesting you can bolt all the running gear up to a std Fwd Escort Mk5 shell.

[mjf93]

The escort Cosworth is worth money because it's a homologation special. I think this is deserved, anything made too get into motorsport is always worth a premium, because they are normally over engineered, and made in small numbers, meaning they are desireable. Its the same as an Impreza P1, Intergrale, Sierra Cosworth for touring cars, the list goes on. I like all these cars because they are based on standard models, but can slay supercars at the same time

[mph1977]

300bhp/ton said:

fathomfive said:

Wasn't the base car effectively a Sierra, with cannily grafted Escort bits on the outside / interior?

Or did I dream that?

Jonny1984 said:

Aren't the Escort Cosworths based on the Sierra platform? I've never driven one, but standard ones are supposed to feel their age now. I just love how they look

Not really no. These vehicles are of monocoque construction, not a ladder chassis. So while a Sierra might have been a starting point, it's more than just a couple of bashed panels to make the Escort RS Cosworth.


If you want to simply it, then yes ok it is a Sierra, but only in the same way a BMW Z3 is only an e30 3 Series....

the Escort Cosworth is neither a Escort nor a Sierra , it's a bespoke monocoque that looks like an Escort, but underneath has more in common with a sierra to fit the 4*4 cosworth's running gear ( with longitudinal engine , RWD sized transmission tunnel , sierra wheelbase ... )

Edited by mph1977 on Wednesday 7th November 18:13

[stewjohnst]

doogz said:

Are threads only allowed to discuss the original question as it's written, and nothing else?

Don't start another argument in here...it's interfering with my ability to follow the one 300's having with everyone

[300bhp/ton]

Hugo a Gogo said:

you've misread

the Sierra parts fit an Escort Cosworth (Escos) shell

My bad, just thought it was a typo of Escort.

[300bhp/ton]

jimmy the hat said:

This is why I give up,

Cheers, Jim

It was an honest mistake on my part. I thought it said one thing, were it didn't.


That aside, taking the running gear from one vehicle and it fitting another is hardly proof they are identical. In fact many cars can do this.

[Hugo a Gogo]

name 2 that don't share platforms

[F8OOL]

Also not forgetting that the body of the escort cosworth was a bespoke hand laid by Karmann in Germany

[300bhp/ton]

Hugo a Gogo said:

name 2 that don't share platforms

Dolly and TR7.

Range Rover and Disco

Disco and Defender

Defender and Range Rover

Metro and MGF (almost)

DB7 and XJ-S

[Hugo a Gogo]

300bhp/ton said:

Hugo a Gogo said:

name 2 that don't share platforms

Dolly and TR7.

Range Rover and Disco

Disco and Defender

Defender and Range Rover

Metro and MGF (almost)

DB7 and XJ-S

disco and rangy are practically the same car

DB7 platform is related to the XJ-S and the same as the XK8

Metro is front engined you know, you can't REALLY just swap everything around (but I know what you mean)

dunno about the dolly, but it wouldn't surprise me, same engine were in the sprints so why not

[RWD cossie wil]

Op was doing fine up until he said he had never driven one! Very good drivers cars, from the first 3 door to the last Escort, all are great fun to drive. Still struggle to find a car with a better driving position than the Sapphire Cosworth as well. They were never about being the best finished, most equipped etc, they were built purely to allow Ford to win races, which they did across all generations.

[Froomee]

In answer to the original question i love these cars ever since i had a passenger ride in a non-standard one as a youngster which promptly obliterated a 911 from the lights (i was too young to know the exact model).

In addition to the above there was a tuned one which i used to see regularly that was faster than an M6 in a straight line from standstill upto 150ish which has only increased my personal affection for them.

Seen in the cold day of light yes it is "just an Escort" but watching a properly sorted one obliterate some serious metal reminds me of why some cars are more than just a sum of their parts/name/badge/looks/etc. It sums up being a car/driving enthusiast perfectly you either get "it" or you don't

[cptsideways]

Hugo a Gogo said:

Metro is front engined you know, you can't REALLY just swap everything around (but I know what you mean)

That's exactly what they did they even left the driveshaft flanges in the front hubs

[Hugo a Gogo]

OK, I'm going to buy an MGF and fit a Metro rear end to it, should be great!

[emicen]

300bhp/ton said:

Hugo a Gogo said:

name 2 that don't share platforms

Dolly and TR7.

Range Rover and Disco

Disco and Defender

Defender and Range Rover

Metro and MGF (almost)

DB7 and XJ-S

This is why theres no point indulging 300bhp/ton. Whether he's deliberately trolling or just thick, it always degrades to this kind of situation.

He's a prime example of why this forum could do with an ignore button to just autohide posts.

http://www.escortrscosworth.com/forum/showthread.p...
http://www.bluecossie.com/index.php?option=com_con...
http://www.rs-world.co.uk/car_info/esccos.htm

The Escort Cosworth used a shortened Sierra Sapphire 4x4 floorpan with lengthened rear arches. It was actually produced by Karmann for this reason, none of Ford's mk5 Escort floorpan or rear panel tooling would have been suitable:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karmann#Karmann_total...

[Grovsie26]

Was it really that cheap? Ive heard it was really expensive to insure them.