COSWORTH REBORN

Over the decades, Ford has made plenty of go-faster family cars. It all started with the Lotus Cortina and was then built upon by the likes of the RS1800 and RS2000 Escorts, as well as Cosworth versions of the same compact model plus the Sierra too. There’s the whole exalted XR lineage to look at, as well, while today, the ST badge rules the roost in both the Fiesta and Focus families, with hatch and estate versions of the latter available in both petrol and diesel form. There’s even a twin-clutch automatic model for you to go at.

But one car conspicuous by its absence from this roll call of greatness is the Mondeo. It’s a strange omission on the Blue Oval’s part, because the Mondeo had some enviable motorsport pedigree, especially its exploits in both the British and the World