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They weren't far off a baked bean tin on wheels. Lots of fun on twisty bits, bit of a dog in a drag race against anything modern, death on a stick in an accident.
Ex XR2i owner here.
And I'd still like a nice S2 RS Turbo.
http://www.norrismotorsport.co.uk/performance-tuning/cvh-engine-rebuild/rsturbo-400bhp/
A mate back in the 90s was a suspension designer doing work on Ford rally cars. I think one year he did parts of the Acropolis rally course three times as a passenger, first time checking the roads out and working what the suspension should be doing, the second time was as the race progressed he was getting feedback from the drivers in the evenings and working out what wasn't working. The third time was going down bits of the course after the event to see if the fixes work.
The last time I saw him before he pushed off to the states to work for an Asian manufacturer ( I want to say Hyundai but cant be certain) as a developement engingeer he was driving a Escort Cosworth with active suspension he could tune from his lap top. A brilliant fun car but a bit disconcerting when he changes suspension from sport mode to 2CV halfway round a corner.
I had an AXGT back in ’94 for a couple of years. Horrible little thing, but around town it could shift. Someone above described it as “Tupperware on wheels”, I thought it was more like a jet propelled egg box. Everything fell apart on it and it would piss water in through the rear windows. But I loved it!
I picked it up from the showroom on the Friday night and by 9:00am the following morning I was sat facing the wrong way on the road between Helmshore and Holcombe after losing it big style on a damp corner. An incident which probably saved my skin as I never tried to “GIVE IT LOADS” again. Then one summer I drove it on a 800 mile road trip with my missus and when we got back I sold it as we were both deaf and suffering from bad backs.
A mate round the corner bought it and over the next year or so proceeded to bounce it off various walls and parked cars until it finally died.
I saw a mint condition one at a car show last year and was absolutely horrified by the flimsiness of it. One proper wreck in it would have been nasty.
Next car was a Fiat Bravo HLX. Big engine, terrible understeer, awful build quality and worse reliability. Followed by a Vectra and 2 x SMax. I do miss my AX, but not enough to want another.
hodgynd
Member
Not really Northwind ..you were claiming that your car would out perform a Cosworth ..I merely said that it wouldn’t..
No, really- my point was that my car'd outperform the cars the OP linked (which is true), despite not being particularly fast itself.
An ex had an AX GT, which replaced an orange MK2 Escort Sport.
The AX was one of the most fun cars I ever drove.
I love old Citroen's, but it used to fall apart remarkably often.
First drive from new the rear view mirror just fell off, the red paint had faded within a year and the alloys were porous.
The passenger seat detached itself after six months too - 'They all do that' apparently.🙂
I still miss that car, but not the ex who was even less reliable.
The only car that was even more shoddily put together was a 1995 Escort RS2000, a company fleet car, which creaked like my left knee.
Bits of interior trim used to come away on bumpy roads and the fuelling was lumpier than a Thai mattress.
Last person out of the office had to take it home. It was horrible.
I live in the past mostly with a Mk2 Golf GTi and a Corrado VR6. Whenever I drive a modern car I'm amazed at how fat and blunt and remote they feel. Anyway... back to fast Fords. I knew a fellah from my motorcycling days who'd put a Cosworth turbo motor in a Ford Transit. I have lasting memories of the thing bearing down on a BMW 3-series at triple figure speeds on the M60 and the look of horror on the BM driver's face as it went past.
A mate of mine had one of the first Escort RS Turbo’s, and he had no end of issues with it; the front suspension units kept failing, the front discs warped, and there were internal trim problems, like the front seats coming apart. Then there was the evening four of us were on our way back along the A4 through Savernake Forest; we’d been to a hifi show in London, (he helped run his dad’s hifi shop), and we were enjoying a nice empty A-road. There was a bit of a dip in the road, which we hit at around 70-ish, and there was a loud bang as the car bottomed out! There was a shower of sparks that lit up a car going in the opposite direction, like a flashbulb going off, and I can still remember seeing their faces, open-mouthed, in the brief flash.
We had no idea what caused it, until my mate had a close look underneath the next day.
It was the fuel pump, which stuck down under the car, and had deep gouges in it from hitting the tarmac at 70!
Not a clever bit of design, really.
PJM1974
Member
Essex snobbery aside for a moment (as per my last post), I know from a friend who worked at Dunton during the early 90s that one of the test fleet was an Escort Cosworth fitted with a V6 – I assume to be a 2.9 given the Escort Cosworth’s Sierra underpinnings.
Yep, saw it lots, but never got to drive it, canary yellow, no big wing, and blue tinted wheels. Was running 2.9 24v Cosworth V6 and auto box. Was apparently a hoot to drive.
Also worked on the 2nd phase Escort Cosworth, as mentioned above, smaller turbo meant that drivability in standard spec was better, but less tuning potential unless you changed the turbo.
Wasn’t all Cosworths and RS2000s mind, if you know how to decode a memory dump from most 90s EEC IV or EEC V ECU you’ll find my surname in there.
I had a 5 GT Turbo, 205 1.9gti that became and Mi16 and the Moonstone Blue sapphire Cossie.
My dear departed Dad rolled it for me and saved me the hassle 😂 To be fair he left me 30grand in his will which was for the express purposes of buying a car to keep. I bought a 993 4s which was a rather sound investment !
So my hot hatch list was:
MK1 Astra GTE 1.7 loved it my first proper car at 17.
Fiesta XR2 MK1 I think. Dangerous, didn't drive in a straight line - seller went to court.
Renault 5 GT Turbo mk1. Flexy body work. Great 2nd - 3Rd gear change. Not stable. Fun. Totally unreliable
Escort RS Turbo s2. Modified. Quick but a handful. Then stopped being quick. Gearbox went. Got nicked in the hot hatch era. Got a decent payout.
GOLF Gti mk2 16v - revved its nuts off. One of my favourite cars ever.
I think a lot of these cars would feel pretty crap to drive these days.
I had an RS1600i which handled amazing at the time, undertake, overtake it would do it, close ratio box as standard 5th was prob 4th on the XR3i, with about 10bhp over one so would beat one right at the rev limiter. Used to eat valve stem oil seals.
My S2 RS Turbo had a 2 litre conversion only about 250bhp but a lot smoother than just a standard overboost/ecu job. Owner before just turned up the boost without working on the fueling so I burnt out some valves 🙁 ABS belts were a pain keeping at the correct tension. Torque steer, sideways in the wet in 3rd on sliproads, didn't stuff it but glad I went for the larger motor rather than a larger turbo and silly boost.
My Bro in law has an old mini he has built up over the last few years. He took me out in it the other day. Not sure what he has done to it, it was originally a 1275gt, but he's done all sorts to the engine.
Setting off down the east lancs from the lights was an experience. A totally visceral, savage experience with noise, smells, horrific vibration and torque steer. It was absolutely BRILLIANT. Massively more fun than my then modern fast Golf and current 330bm, which, despite being much faster just disconnects your from the road and the overall driving experience.
Does anyone remember a Fiesta Mk 1 Super Sport? This thread made me curious as one of my mates had a Diamond White vehicle, and some googling revealed they are pretty limited numbers and worth a fair bit of money these days. Pity he didn’t keep it.
It wasn’t quick and didn’t going around corners particularly well 🙂
Does anyone remember a Fiesta Mk 1 Super Sport?
Just about.
A warm hatch?
My first car was a AX GT. Great fun but made of paper. Had to change the fuel filter every couple of weeks as the tank was rusting, all the side trim kept falling off, the drivers seat disintegrated, the sun roof leaked which made the rear foot well rot through and it gobbled part worn tyres. I some times have a look on ebay for another but the limited number left tells it's own story.
Always wanted a XR3i but my pal got one and it was a bit of a disappointment. Saying that, we had limited cash so there's a decent chance it was not in the rudest health, just like the XR2 he had before.
f you know how to decode a memory dump from most 90s EEC IV or EEC V ECU you’ll find my surname in there
The injection setup was one of the best bits on the XR2i - chapeau.
My step-father had a Cosworth 4x4 Sierra. It was stolen off the drive for bank robbery duties. Twice. I think he liked his Mini 1275 GT more. He likes my RS Twingo a lot. And he's quientened down a bit now with his Jaguar fetish (owns a Mk2 andand F type).
Used to love 80's Ford Escorts especially Escort RS Turbo's
In the mid 90's you could pick up MK3 XR3i's for £500 out of the local Freeads every weekend in a colour of your choice
My first car was a MK3 XR3 (non injection)
Followed by a RS1600i
Then a white S2 RS Turbo
Black RS1660i
Black S2 RS Turbo (200bhp when id finished with it)
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Finally a Series 1 RS Turbo, 200bhp ex working class show car
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The Series 1 RS Turbo was sold to a friend who has a 450 bhp Fiesta RS Turbo which has done 184mph
Never owned a Cossie, only saffs were in my price range and i wasn't keen on the looks, mates had loads and they were great fun but could be problematic engine wise
I had an almost new 4wd sapphire back in 94 and it was tuned to 400bhp, rolling road verified. I remember not much could stay with it and I did have some great races with a TVR and a new jag xk. The police came round one day and said they had knowledge that it was going to be stolen and set up cameras etc in my house. Never happened thankfully. I also had a rare 205 gti 1.9 TT conversion that was my first performance car. That was surprisingly fast for the time too.