Unless you’ve somehow stumbled on this article by complete accident, and you’re not even entirely sure what a ‘car’ is, then we probably don’t need to explain the legend of the Ford Escort RS Cosworth to you. We’ll just skim over the highlights, then: Group A homologation special, Cosworth-fettled engine, whaletail spoiler, big turbo, Jeremy Clarkson, impossible to insure, modern classic, skyrocketing values.
Now that we’ve got that over with, we can move on to what we’re looking at here: an Escort Cosworth that’s covered just 408 miles from new, and is now heading under the hammer at Iconic Auctioneers’ sale at the NEC Classic Motor Show on 8 November.
Ford Escort RS Cosworth – side
You likely have several questions, mostly starting with the words ‘how’ and ‘why’, so here’s an explainer. Built in late 1995 as part of the final batch of Escort Cosworths, this Lux model – a slightly ambitious name when the ‘Lux’ features amounted to things like a CD player and air-con – remained unregistered until early 1997.
It was then bought up at auction by the owner of a Ford dealer, who racked up a meagre 352 miles before it was popped in his showroom and offered for £32,995. Seems reasonable for a Cossie these days, but consider that when these cars were new, they usually cost somewhere in the low £20k region, and that £33,000 in 1997 money is almost exactly double that today, and it may explain why it remained unsold until 2006.
Ford Escort RS Cosworth – interior
Effectively sold back then as the last ‘new’ Escort Cosworth, the eventual buyer purchased it on the condition that it not be fettled in any way. They not only kept that promise, but barely used the car at all, bumping the mileage to just 378 before it was placed into dry storage in 2007.
It remained there until 2023, when it was sold again. Any fears about the effects of being sat motionless for 16 years should be assuaged by the fact that it was treated to a full recommissioning by a Cosworth specialist. The 2023 buyer, though, once again chose to sit on the car – in almost 30 years since it was built, it’s covered less than the length of Britain’s longest road, the A1.
Ford Escort RS Cosworth – engine bay
Its upcoming sale, then, represents possibly the last opportunity to buy a basically new example of one of the performance legends of the ’90s, but of course, it won’t come cheap. Since it’s a fast Ford, a ’90s homologation special and sits on essentially delivery miles, it’s pretty much a perfect storm of Stuff That Makes Cars Expensive In 2025, and as a result is guided at £130-£150k.
Then again, that’s less than the £202,500 record set by an Escort Cosworth at an auction last November, and that one, at 2882 miles, was positively tired compared to this one. Does this suggest that we’ve passed peak Fast Ford silliness, or is the upper £150k estimate just conservative, and are we about to have our minds boggled yet again?
Ford Escort RS Cosworth – rear
We’ll find out next month, but a bigger question will be going through the head of whoever buys it – keep it as perfect, almost-new museum piece, or exercise the 218bhp produced by that boosty, growly Cosworth four-pot as intended? We seriously hope they choose the latter.
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