RS 2000

Ford Escort RS 2000 or MK5 is a popular car in the UK and has won several rallies and race circuits around the UK. The last Escort RS 2000 that was built was a Kit car for the Formula 2 rally championship in 1996. Though most of the Escorts built at that time were integrated with CVH engines, the RS2000 introduced in 1991 had 8-valve l4 engine that was used for the Sierra and Scorpio. The 16-valve engine developed in 1992, produced 150hp @ 6000rpm. One of the most attractive parts about the Escort was the design of the tubular exhaust manifold. After 1992, most of the RS 2000s had DOHC 16v engine, which was an iron block with alloy cylinder head.

The displacement for the car was 1998cc; the compression ratio and the bore x stroke ratio was 10, 3:1 and 86,00 x 86,00 mm respectively. The transmission inbuilt in the automobile was based on MT75 gearbox designed for rear wheel drive. However, this was a front wheel drive with 5-speed manual transmission and 220mm single clutch plate. The front bumper included the fog lamp, which assured safe driving in fog. Though the basic body shell was adapted from the Mk5, the front grille and the bumper were modified with the addition of colour coded side skirts and rear spoiler. The interior of the car was equally attractive. The Recaro seats formed the most notable feature of the car. It also had standard features such as the tilt and slide sunroof, electric windows and central locking.

In 1993 and 1995 the car did see some facelifts with regard to the exteriors. A 4x4 version of RS 2000 was introduced as Mk6 in 1993. Though the engine shared the same feature as the previous one, the power was split 40-60% among front and rear wheels.