Chrises Cars

Its only a matter of time before Ford surpasses Lancia as the most successful.

Despite Fords earlier efforts it was the Cortina Gt and Lotus Cortina that gave Ford a future in Rallying.

In 1967 Ford replaced the Cortina rally car with the first of their Escorts, the mark one. The Escort began its winning career in 1968 and continued winning rallys for the next 30 years.

Ford’s mark 2 Escort RS1800 was a force to reckoned with. This version was kicking out 245bhp and in 1979 it was increased to 272bhp with the new onset fuel injection system.

In 1983 a new group B was introduced and Ford wanted to participate so they came up with the 450bhp RS200. The RS200 participated in 1986 but overweight and underpowered for a group B car it didnt score so well.

In 1987 group B was dropped and group A began which had a power output classification of 300bhp. Ford entered this group with their Sierra Cosworth.

1996 was the end of the Escort and the birth of the Focus. The first Focus, being driven by Colin McRae took nine wins.

The Ford Focus is till going strong and winning rallys today.

Related Posts You may Find Interesting

• January 21, 2010 -- Pure classic car rallying action
• January 7, 2010 -- Four minutes of classic car rallying
• November 14, 2009 -- Lancia is voted as most successful rally car manufacturer by WRC
• January 26, 2010 -- Images of Ken Blocks new Ford Fiesta rally car released today
• January 21, 2010 -- Ken Block will be available for live chat tomorrow at thefordstory.com

Tags: car history, car news, Colin McRae, cortina gt, ecort mark 2, escort, escort mk II, escort rs1800, escorts, focus, ford, ford escort, ford rs200, ford sierra, fors focus, lotus cortina, rally, rally cars, rallying, RS1800, RS200, sierra, Sierra Cosworth, WRC

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