SERIES ONE RS TURBO
ENGINE 1596cc CVH, Garrett T34 turbo with 0.48 A/R exhaust housing, Accralite forged pistons, Piper 285 T2 cam, EFI conversion, Cosworth P8 management, Cosworth light blue injectors, anti-lag, water/methanol injection, Mongoose stainless exhaust system, Bailey header tank, Bailey catch tank, Samco hoses, Airtec radiator, Airtec front-mounted intercooler
POWER 250bhp @ 21psi
TRANSMISSION S2 RS Turbo gearbox with Quaife internals and cryogenic treated gears, paddle clutch, Puma gear linkage
SUSPENSION Avo adjustable shocks, H&R springs, fully poly-bushed, rose-jointed adjustable wishbones, front strut brace
BRAKES Cosworth four-pot front callipers, custom grooved and drilled discs
WHEELS & TYRES 7x16in diamond-cut RS seven-spokes, ET35 offset, 195/45x16 Toyos
EXTERIOR Factory RS Turbo, bare-shell rebuild
INTERIOR Original RS Turbo interior, 3D-printed pod with Stack boost and oil pressure gauges, Alpine speakers, two subwoofers in custom box
In addition, the CVH is running Cosworth P8 management, water/meth injection and – Robert’s favourite part – anti-lag. Jano’s created a real monster here, and the upshot is 250bhp at 21psi, all thoroughly exploitable and, thanks to the ALS, spitting flames like an absolute mentalist. Forget your popcorn and fashionable crackle maps, this is rally-stage thunder of the most organic type; old-school muscle with an anti-social attitude.
With great power comes great responsibility, and with the best will in the world it’s probably not a brilliant idea to nigh-on double a car’s power output and not do anything to improve the chassis. With this in mind, Robert’s thoroughly upgraded the suspension and braking systems.
“I removed the tired old Koni suspension, bushes, brake and fuel lines, as well as all wishbones, and replaced and repainted everything,” he says.
“When building it back up, I fitted bigger Cosworth brakes, upgraded the clutch, and custom-made new gearbox mounts to fit the S2 ’box. The biggest hurdle has been getting parts, as we all know that the RS tax is a killer, but it was all well worth it.”
What Robert’s created here, thanks to endless levels of elbow grease, along with the expertise of an engine-building superhero, is a proper fast-road weapon wrapped up in the form of an appreciating classic.
That’s probably the most impressive thing about this car: that it looks so close to factory S1 specs from the outside, and yet it’s harbouring such malevolent potential within.
And not only is this Escort a hard-driven back-road hooligan, it’s proven time and time again that it’s got the legs to act just like it did back in the Eighties.
Eight-hundred miles at 21psi? Easy-peasy. There’s no such thing as ‘too far away’.