A closer look at Ken Block's Ford Escort Cosworth

Ken Block’s pursuit to turn all of the great fast Fords into track toys continues. Following his Mk2 Escort and ‘Hoonicorn’ Mustang – not to mention a wealth of modern Fiestas and Focuses – comes his Escort Cosworth. Yep, the wildest, whale-tailed blue-oval hot hatch is now a fully fledged Hoonigan.

We’ve had a glimpse of Block’s 400bhp Cossie before, but now it’s resplendent in a new livery, while Ken has also revealed what he’s got planned with it. Yep, while a wise person with their hands on an Escort Cosworth rally car might vacuum pack it away and watch the value swell, the skiddiest man in the west has something far riskier in mind. We don’t want to know his insurance excess.

It’s entering three rallies in the US, the first being the Oregon Trail Rally this weekend. “I love my old Cossie and I’m looking forward to going and pushing that a bit here in America,” says Ken. While he has rallycross plans with his more modern machinery, too, it’s the Cossie we want to hear wailing and sliding its way through American forests.

More to the point, it’s the Cossie we want a sneaky go in. Like, now.