Image: Ford Motor Company.
For nearly 60 years, there has only really been one manufacturer that has managed to take a mundane car and make it appeal to even the fruitiest of petrolheads. Those who despite their calibre of class, talent and taste, always crave a fast Ford of some sort.
A spiced-up Ford is a simple, easy way to bring out the youthfulness in all of us regardless of age or social status. From the twin-cam racers of the sixties to the turbocharged monsters of today, a Ford that moves has always impressed not a few, but the many.
Coming up now is a celebration of that magic by which Intake compiles ten of the greatest fast Fords. For the purpose of this article, it'll be focusing on those for the U.K and European marketplace rather than the V8 beasts of the USA and Australia. So, don't start commenting Mustangs and Falcons!
1. MK1 Lotus Cortina
Image: Brian Snelson via Flickr (copyright free).
Where better to start than at the very beginning. The Cortina came along in 1962 to serve as a ordinary family saloon car with either a 1200 or 1500cc engine. But Dagenham decided the best way to put its name on the map was to get it on the track.
With the help of Colin Chapman and subsequently Lotus, this mundane saloon received a revolutionary twin-cam 1.6 litre 4-cylinder engine churning out a then-bonkers 105bhp. It was the same engine used in the Lotus Elan sports car and suddenly, the Cortina could fly - and fly well!
It was dominant in the British Touring Car Championships (BTCC) and quickly earned respect for its racing pedigree. You can imagine how much of a surprise this car would've been on launch back in 1963; because suddenly, you could get yourself a family saloon that could keep up with a powerful Austin Healey 3000.
2. MK1 Escort RS1600
Image: Ford Motor Company.
Succeeding the earlier Twin Cam model, the RS1600 is the most respected of all the MK1 Escorts. With its compact, lightweight body combined with the Cosworth 1.6 litre engine, this gorgeous little car made 115bhp and like its larger Cortina brother, succeeded both on the track and on the rally stages!
Popular upgrades included spotlights or reinforced chassis and suspension upgrades - making an untouched RS a rare find in today's marketplace.
3. MK1 Capri RS3100
Image: Ford Motor Company.
As Ford's marketing team put it themselves, the Capri was the car you always promised yourself. And if you're a true gearhead, you always promised yourself the top-of-the-range RS model.
The 3100 differs from the 2600 because it didn't use the German-made Cologne engine, but rather the iconic Essex V6 but expanded to 3.1 litres. It made a rather healthy 148bhp.
It was a homologation special for the Group 4 and Group 5 championships and on track, the RS Capris were dominant in competition - even against the might of Porsche 911 RSRs and BMW 3.0 CSLs.
4. MK3 Capri 2.8 Injection
Image: Ford Motor Company.
By the time the Capri had reached its third generation in 1978, Ford needed to keep it appealing for it to continue its undeniable success. One of the answers was the fabulous 2.8 Injection.
Using a fuel-injected version of the 2.8 litre Cologne V6 engine, it made 160bhp and could hit 0-60 in under 8 seconds. That was seriously moving back in the early 80s.
The 2.8i was one of the last hurrahs of the blue oval coupe and still to this day, has not been met with a proper successor.
5. Sierra Cosworth
Image: Ford Motor Company.
The Sierra 'cossie' was a royal jewel for thieves wanting an ideal getaway car for their continuous crimes.
Why? Well because not only was it one of the fastest things on sale, but because they were unbelievably easy to steal. In fact, insuring a Sierra Cosworth was almost not worth it by the early 1990s as so many had been nicked and used for ram raids.
But stigma aside, the car itself was brilliant: with a Cosworth-tuned 2.0 litre engine, it was a hero in the Group A championship and a darling at the BTCC - much like its Lotus Cortina grandfather then!
It came in a variety of guises from RWD, 4x4 to even a 4-door Sapphire, the Sierra Cosworth was one of the true icons of the 80s and represented everything that was bonkers about that decade.
6. Escort Cosworth
Image: Ford Motor Company.
Built as a homologation special to compete in the Group A rally championships, the Escort Cosworth wasn't strictly an Escort at all.
It was based around the Sierra architecture to accommodate the larger Cosworth engine and mechanical underpinnings. It produced up to a ridiculous 227bhp and outperformed any fast hatchback on the market at the time.
With just over 7,000 examples made, the Escort cossie remains a rare car and to this day, commands big money for a good one.
7. MK2 Focus RS
Image: Ford Motor Company.
This was one of the maddest, most outrageous and greenest hot hatchbacks of the modern era. The Focus RS used a 2.5 litre 5-cylinder engine from Volvo; but unlike its Swedish donor, it made a hefty 300bhp and all of that went to the front wheels.
Naturally, there was a lot of torque steer in these MK2 RS', but the sound of the throaty engine with the sense that everything was exploding made this car a cult icon and one that's popular among enthusiasts twelve years on.
Oh, and the top speed was over 160mph - that was faster than most German performance cars due to the 155mph limiter!