This story began in 1996, when Ford Motorsport’s Boreham operation was in transition. The Escort RS Cosworth was past its peak, chief design engineer John Wheeler had been promoted to run Ford’s Aston Martin DB7 technical operation in the Midlands, and there was turmoil at the top of the sport. The original World Rally Car regulations were due to take effect in 1997, but Ford Motorsport needed a new model. There wasn’t a suitable car to meet the new rules, and the outgoing Escort RS Cosworth – built to Group A regs – would no longer be eligible.
From a technical point of view, the new rules were easy enough to meet. But would Ford have a suitable base car available by 1 January 1997?
This was the dilemma. Although only 20 new WRC machines had to be built in one season
