We could say that the Ford Escort RS Cosworth is one of the oracles of the modern sports compact, along with cars with a similar formula, such as the Lancia Delta Integrale. This car is much loved by petrolheads, and while it wasn’t the last Ford sports car Cosworth was involved in, it was the last to bear his last name. It was manufactured between 1992 and 1996, and the news is that right now, The last produced Ford Escort RS Cosworth is for sale. A car that shouldn’t even exist.
The Ford Escort RS Cosworth was created to homologate the participation of the Escort in rallies, and used the mechanical basis of the Ford Sierra Cosworth 4×4, as well as an extensively modified version of its platform. Its 227 hp – coming from a legendary two-liter four-cylinder turbo engine – and all-wheel drive weren’t the only things that made it special, but also its specific body kit and its gigantic spoiler. Production of the Escort RS Cosworth ended in January 1996. Or at least, that was the official version.
It was a car created to homologate the Escort’s participation in Group A of the FIA and the WRC.
What most people don’t know is that the Ford Escort RS Cosworth was produced by Karmann in Austria. Karmann was an Austrian coachbuilder specializing in producing low-volume cars, and although he was closely associated with the Volkswagen Group, he also built vehicles for other OEMs. Karmann produced all 8,082 units of the Ford Escort RS Cosworth, and when production ended, they took inventory and discovered they had parts to produce two more units. The unit now up for auction was the second of these two “bonus balls.”
The penultimate car was built for Wilhelm Karmann Jr. – CEO of Karmann – and the last unit became the company car of one of Karmann’s project managers. In 1998 it was acquired by Dieter Hahne, director of SVE (Special Vehicle Engineering), the Ford department that led the development of the Escort RS Cosworth in Germany. Hahne was personally involved in the project and considered the car his ‘baby’, and over the 24 years he has owned it he has pampered and cared for it, sparing no euro on maintenance.
A peculiar detail: its grille is that of a facelifted Ford Escort from 1993, adapted to the bonnet of the RS Cosworth. It is the only unit with this factory detail.
The car retains all the invoices of its maintenance operations and revisions from the year 1998, and the reason why Hahne himself is because he is 80 years old, and considers that it is time for another petrolhead to enjoy a vehicle as special as this . The unit in question It has just under 98,000 km and is in excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition.. He was repainted in his original Auralis Work color over the last decade and had a spot of rust under his rear bumper professionally repaired.
Its Recaro seats show normal wear and there are two small holes in the center console from a mobile phone holder. At 97,777 km the clutch was replaced and the car is delivered with complete maintenance, dated October 2022. In short, it is a car ready to be enjoyed from the first minute. Although the auction ends on Monday, November 7, the bids are close to 50,000 euros at the time of writing this article. You may find your ad in Collecting Cars.
The car had to be homologated individually, and therefore has a unique chassis number.
