1 minute read
FORGOTTEN FORDS
This sketch by Frank Stephenson shows his Escort Speedster musings with the later front end styling and Mk5B-style grille
The never-built show car would have featured the regular Escort Cosworth grille but, by the time it had reached production the Speedster would have likely been updated with the later nose
Advertisement
ESCORT COSWORTH SPEEDSTER
THE BLUE OVALS YOU’VE (PROBABLY) NEVER HEARD OF… Steve Saxty sheds some light on a proposed Speedster version of the much-loved Escort Cosworth
Words & Photos STEVE SAXTY
An Escort Cosworth Speedster sounds like a mouthwatering prospect. Remove the rear seats and replace them with a twin-bubble fairing that swoops off behind the rear seats and off you go. Back in spring 1990, just as the Escort Cosworth was nearing production Ford’s marketing team were getting cold feet. The new RS might find far less than the 5000 buyers per year they had contracted Karmann to make and so a way was needed to widen the car’s appeal, but how?
Frank Stephenson was a young designer at Ford’s Merkenich design center in Germany. While the Escort Cosworth’s design which was styled by Steve Harper and Ian Callum, completely independent of the Escort Cosworth project, Frank was asked to submit ideas for adding sparkle to the Escort Cabrio.
He sketched up a delightful-looking Escort Speedster – some months ahead of when Karmann began dreaming up a variety of Escort Cosworth derivatives: a coupe, station wagon, dune buggy and yes, a Speedster too. Karmann’s idea gathered steam and Frank was asked to do a sketch that combined his Speedster-style rear with the almostproduction-ready Cosworth front. The plan was to make a one-off show car, but it was never built. Removing the roof would have added something like £7000 to the price of the car. That was too close to Porsche money and so Ford kept the lid on the car, until now.
BOOK OFFER
Fast Ford readers get free UK shipping worth £10.70 on Steve Saxty’s series of Secret Fords books. Use the coupon code FASTFORD at
