Estimated Price: £115,000 - £130,000

Stuart Turner, Head of Ford Motorsport Europe, together with Walter Hayes, were instrumental in the success of the Sierra Cosworth throughout the late 1980s. By 1990 however, the rally landscape was changing, with lighter, more compact cars emerging from Japanese manufacturers. Recognising this shift, Turner pushed for a new direction, persuading Ford’s decision makers to approve the Escort RS Cosworth programme despite initial resistance, not least as the standard Escort platform was front-wheel drive and production would need to be outsourced to Karmann in Germany.

Two key factors ultimately secured approval: the need for a true ‘halo’ model within the Escort range, and the opportunity to utilise the proven four-wheel drive system from the Sierra Cosworth. Turner famously described the concept as a 'pizza' car, Sierra underpinnings with an Escort body. Early competition success quickly validated the idea, and Ford’s marketing machine ensured the RS Cosworth became one of the defining performance cars of the era.

The Ford Escort RS Cosworth offered here was manufactured in October 1992, supplied new by John Grose Ford of Ipswich and first registered in November of the same year. As such, it is one of the original 2,500 homologation examples from the first year of production and is finished in Diamond White with a grey Polaris cloth interior, electric windows, sunroof and headlamp washers. It is understood that the first owner used the car sparingly, keeping it dry stored and maintained, largely by the supplying dealer.

Our vendor acquired the RS in 2016 showing just 2,495 miles, at which point it had been recommissioned following a period of minimal use and remained a single-owner car. Since then, it has formed part of a carefully curated collection, stored in a purpose-built, temperature-controlled facility.

Today the RS can only be described as beautifully preserved. The odometer currently indicates just 2,956 miles and the car is accompanied by a comprehensive history file including numerous invoices for maintenance, a collection of previous MOT Certificates supporting the low mileage and its current V5C registration document.

Fresh to market for the first time in a decade, this represents a rare opportunity to acquire a first-year Escort RS Cosworth, a model that played a key role in Ford’s success during a golden era of rallying, with just two owners and less than 3,000 miles.