ALEX BURRIDGE ESCORT COSWORTH
Alex has been an Escort Cosworth fan almost all of his life – it was the poster car on his bedroom wall. But when he was finally in a position to buy one, Alex couldn’t bring himself to spend that sort of cash on a 30-year-old Ford Escort.
A succession of fast cars came and went, including a Mercedes C63 AMG and a BMW M5, but none of them could hit that fast Ford spot, so he decided to take the plunge and buy an EsCos.
But it couldn’t be any old EsCos.
Alex wasn’t in the market for an ultra-low-mileage museum piece, nor did he want a car that he couldn’t modify and enjoy. The answer presented itself during the middle of the coronavirus pandemic last year, when this rear-wheel-drive-converted example came to the market.
“It was quite well-known and it had a WRC kit, different wheels, and so on. The first thing I wanted to do was put my own stamp on things – the WRC wing was replaced with the original whale tail, and the Rotas went on too.
I’ve had people tell me they think it looks better now, which is a great compliment,” smiles Alex.
Along with the big-tooth T5 gearbox and Toyota Supra rear diff that form the basis of the RWD conversion, the mighty YB up front was built by Tommy Field at Field Motorsport. It boasts a spec that is ideal for fast road thrills, including a T4-based hybrid turbo, eight injectors in WRC inlet, and all controlled by a Pectel P6-2000 ECU. The result is a lively 489bhp.