Ford Escort WRC

Lore & Background

When the World Rally Car regulation was announced in 1996, Ford had no suitable cars because production of the Escort Cosworth had ended that year and the upcoming Ford Focus was still in early design. Ford Motorsport decided to compete in the 1997 and 1998 WRC seasons with the Escort adapted to the new regulations. In late 1996, M-Sport was awarded the contract to run the Ford World Rally Team, while Ford's Boreham base remained the research and development centre.

The car debuted at the 1997 Monte Carlo Rally with factory drivers Carlos Sainz and Armin Schwarz. Sainz immediately took second place, a result he repeated in Sweden. After the Rally of Argentina, Ford replaced Schwarz with four-time World Champion Juha Kankkunen. At the Acropolis Rally, Ford achieved a 1-2 finish with Sainz first and Kankkunen second. From 1 July 1997, the Escort WRC was homologated with a six-speed X-Trac sequential gearbox and other evolutions to suspension, electronics and differential control. The car's last worldwide win came at the Rally of Indonesia, again a 1-2 for Sainz and Kankkunen.

For 1998, Ford fielded Kankkunen and Bruno Thiry after Sainz moved to Toyota. The season began with a new engine developed by Tom Walkinshaw's TWR. Thiry was replaced by Ari Vatanen for the Safari and Portugal rallies due to injury. The Escort WRC's final works team rally ended with a double podium finish in Rally Great Britain.

Reader's Guide

The Ford Escort WRC served as a critical bridge for Ford between the Group A era and the modern World Rally Car formula. Built by M-Sport under a new contract in late 1996, it allowed Ford to remain competitive while the Focus was being developed. The car demonstrated immediate pace, with Carlos Sainz scoring second places in its first two events and the team achieving multiple 1-2 finishes, including at the Acropolis Rally and Rally of Indonesia. Its mid-1997 upgrade to a six-speed sequential gearbox and revised electronics marked a significant technical step. The car's competition history shows it was capable of winning and podium finishes, but it never secured a world championship title. After the works team switched to the Focus WRC in 1999, privateers continued to run Escort WRCs until 2000. The Escort WRC thus represents the final evolution of the Ford Escort name in top-level rallying, a model that had been a mainstay since the 1960s, and it paved the way for the Focus era that followed.

Did You Know?

• It was built by M-Sport, which took over running the Ford World Rally Team in late 1996.
• The car's last worldwide win was at the 1997 Rally of Indonesia, a 1-2 finish for Sainz and Kankkunen.
• Privateers continued to run Escort WRCs until the year 2000 after the works team switched to the Focus.