Whale-Tail 1996 Ford Escort RS Cosworth With 217 Miles Sold For $186,000

You don’t often come across hot hatch legends with as little as 217 miles (349 km) in the odometer, but this is the case with the pictured 1996 Ford Escort RS Cosworth that recently changed hands for an eye-watering £149,995 ($185,923). The model, offered by kgf classic cars in the UK, looks like it just came out of the factory, being a garage queen for the most part of the past three decades.

The WRC homologation special was built in October 1995 at Ford’s Rheine Assembly Plant in Germany and is one of the last examples produced. It was registered in August 1996 and has only had two owners since. Both of them treated the car as an investment, meticulously maintaining it in pristine condition, thus the near-delivery mileage.

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The exterior is free of any marks, with the original Radiant Red paint shining bright and all of the labels and stickers still in position. Mind you, the Escort RS Cosworth might have looked like a three-door Escort but it was actually based on an updated Sierra Cosworth chassis. The racing-inspired bodykit includes sporty bumpers, side sill extensions, boxy flared fenders, and the signature whale-tail rear spoiler which is one of the most famous ever to be used in a production vehicle. The 16-inch Ronal five-spoke alloy wheels are shod in Pirelli P Zero tires specially developed for the model and preserved in great condition despite their age.

Inside, equipment includes Recaro seats finished in Raven with the period-correct graphics (Pimento Red Hexagon Cloth), electro-luminescent dials, a few extra gauges, a quartz digital clock with ambient temperature, a driver airbag, the original radio/cassette player, a padded central armrest with cassette storage, and an anti-theft alarm. The manual windows and manual door mirrors prove this example is the spartan Standard Edition which came with fewer features than the Luxury Edition.

Under the bonnet lies Cosworth’s turbocharged 2.0-litre 16-valve engine producing 220 hp. Power was sent to all four wheels through a manual five-speed transition with the help of a permanent Ferguson four-wheel-drive system (34/66 split). Back in the day, the Escort RS Cosworth could accelerate from 0-96 km/h (0-60 mph) in 5.7 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 140 mph (225 km/h). In the early ’90s, those figures would put a lot of sportscars to shame.

Judging from the condition and the mileage of this car, which is probably the best-preserved among the 7,145 examples ever produced, we guess that the new owner will likely keep it inside the garage. As much as we would want to drive it on the road, it is hard not to see that kind of vehicle as an investment, with their values going up as we approach the fully electric era.