If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. I’m going to assume you have a basic level of poultry knowledge here, but you don’t have to be an expert to tell the difference between a male Mandarin and a male Mallard. They both make a big impression with their groovy feathers and bright markings. But consider the female of the species. Is the dowdier female Mallard any less of a duck for its lack of eye catching colour? Of course not. But this isn’t ViaROUEN (some niche duck humour for you there), so where exactly am I going with this…?
My point is that in the wonderful world of waterfowl there can be large variances in the appearance of examples of the same breed. Both sexes of Mallard are identified by the iridescent speculum feathers on their wings, but it’s the male that grabs all the attention with his super-glossy metallic green head. If you don’t have much luck with identifying birds, the Mallard drake is an easy win. As is often the way with the creations of mortal Man, nature sets all the precedents, and the same is true with car design. Take the Jaguar E-Type for example, which was clearly modelled on the amorphous tube of the Sea Cucumber. Or perhaps consider how a bold statement can lift an otherwise nondescript design and become the very factor by which it is identified. In extremis, without that one statement, perhaps it is nothing.
The thought crossed my mind the other day when I stumbled upon a rare image of a Ford Escort RS Cosworth without the famous high level rear wing. Does not compute. What kind of witchcraft is this? Even a person completely devoid of any automotive knowledge couldn’t fail to notice the Escort Cosworth’s boot ornament. But how much of a Cosworth’s identity is wrapped up in that famous spoiler? Is it the case that an Escort Cosworth without a whale tail is like a bull without horns, like a punk without a Mohican, like a whale without… erm, a tail…?
The Escort Cosworth wasn’t the first performance car to have a large aerodynamic accoutrement. It wasn’t even the first fast Ford to have a high-level rear spoiler; that honour goes to the bi-plane equipped Sierra XR4i. Ford really nailed it a few years later with the three-door Sierra RS Cosworth. The sheer audacity of the Cosworth’s hockey stick rear deck earned it a place in the annals of automotive iconography. There was no mistaking the most potent Sierra when it blew past you and rapidly disappeared up the road.
Some years later, and with the then-current Sierra Sapphire Cosworth reaching the end of the road, Ford set to work developing a new halo model for the soon-to-be launched Mk5 Escort. However, in order to facilitate four-wheel drive transmission the Escort Cosworth would share little with the rest of the Escort family, effectively being a coachbuilt replica of an Escort based on a Sierra 4×4 floorpan. To keep the hybrid Ford firmly stuck to the road, body designer Frank Stephenson initially envisaged a wild triple decker spoiler pack to adorn the tailgate. However, the accountants deemed three wings to be too expensive so a Sierra-alike whale tail with a central spur was adopted instead. As with the car that inspired it, the Escort’s rear spoiler immediately defined the car. Visually at least, it was what made a Cosworth, a Cosworth.
I have some history with these cars, having previously held a job teaching people to slide and drift in what were ostensibly Escort Cosworth rally cars. The cars in question were far from works specification but were built from proper 909 motorsport body shells with small-turbo Cosworth engines. Notably, they were built as rear wheel drive with welded differentials for ultimate sideways fun. Most importantly though, they had the full rear spoiler treatment which to the punters meant… Cossie! As they slithered and spun their way around the circuit, they did so in the firm belief they were sliding something special. Given the importance of the rear deck to the car’s appeal, it may therefore come as a surprise that it was possible for Escort Cosworth buyers to opt for “aero delete”. Ticking that box omitted the front splitter and the hockey stick upper rear spoiler, leaving only a relatively modest boot spoiler. The question is, who would opt to do such a thing?
Given the RS alloy wheels, bespoke wings, rear quarters, bonnet, tailgate, bumpers and skirts, none of which were compatible with a standard Escort, removing the rear wing didn’t exactly make the car covert. Ordering an RS Cosworth without a rear wing was surely like asking going to see Motorhead and expecting Lemmy to turn it down a bit. What was the point of diluting the visual impact of a car that traded on making a statement? Perhaps you could argue the extra downforce was irrelevant for most drivers, but why compromise the thing? Nobody phoned Maranello to ask Ferrari to lop the rear wing off their F40. Nobody who wished to remain alive asked the Porsche dealer to delete the deck from their 911 Turbo.
The rear spoiler on the Ford was every bit as iconic as those found on the supercars, a calling card for serious performance. As it turned out, unless you were registering the car in Switzerland where the big spoiler was illegal anyway, hardly anyone elected to forego their aero pack. Such is a part of the Cosworth’s identity; a modest RS was a very rare thing indeed. Given the ease of adding the full spoiler pack retrospectively, surviving original cars will be rarer still. It’s a case of go large or go home, I suppose. Or to put it another way, if you’re going to be a duck, you might as well be a big old drake.
