Recently, Mercedes Streeter was doing a piece on diesel-powered Chevy El Caminos, something the “AI Overview” on whatever browser she was using claimed never existed. About the same time, I put “Ford Escort Turbo” into a different search engine and the bot that gives an AI-derived summary claimed this car was a figment of my imagination as well.
The AI stated that there was, of course, a Turbo Ford Escort made overseas; a number of them actually. The 1984 RS Turbo was but one of the examples of boosted overseas Ford subcompacts, and the later Cosworth Turbo was a truly legendary version. Being over 25 years old, the AI browser helpfully stated that I could import one of these if I wanted a blower-equipped Ford Escort. Barring that, though, I had no other options.
Wrong! Ford did make a turbocharged Escort right here in America, but it’s a car so rare that I could almost forgive the AI’s silicon brain for not knowing this. This homegrown hot hatch had a remarkable turn of speed combined with decent road skills, but failed to find buyers and Ford quickly discontinued it. What sealed the fate of this underrated and forgotten version of one of America’s best-selling cars?
Chevy Would Like A Word With You
Let’s face it: the statement of something being a “world car” is a lie right up there with “the check’s in the mail.” At least, back in the late seventies it was. Replacing the clunky but popular Pinto in America for the 1981 model year, Ford wasn’t ready to go full-on-Euro with their new front-drive subcompact. Our own Thomas Hundal wrote about this a while back:
See, Ford of Europe and Ford in America had very different ideas on how to build a small car. As a result, the European third-generation Ford Escort and American first-generation Ford Escort didn’t share a single body panel between them. In fact, Europeans got three Escort-branded body styles never sold in America, and a four-door sedan called the Orion.
That’s true, but the intent was to make something more attuned to American tastes; they certainly did that.
In retrospect, maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. The US Ford Escort quickly became the best-selling car in America, despite the fact that it was a bog-slow 1.6-liter, 69-horsepower slug. Thomas continues:
Sure, the Escort sold in America shared the CVH engine architecture with the European Escort, but it was also the economy car equivalent of fat Elvis, and while (for enthusiasts) Europe got the XR3 for 1981, America made do with the Escort SS.
Yes, that’s right: the “sporting” version of the world-car-that-wasn’t-in-America had the same designation as truly exciting Chevys from years past. Boy, if that stolen name set your expectations high, you were bound to be disappointed.
See that black grille, “sport” mirrors, the graphic stripes and “racy” stamped steel wheels? Well, other than “special” upholstery and a few extra gauges, that was all this SS package gave you. Yes, you got the same 69-horsepower engine, truly a delight when paired with an automatic transmission and the air conditioning running on High.
One would assume that GM sent Ford a knock-it-off letter about the name, and prospective “hot hatch” and “sport wagon” buyers certainly wanted actual “hot” and “sport” that the SS didn’t provide. Thankfully, for 1982, Ford gave us the GT version of the Escort (in three-door form only), complete with a whopping 23 percent increase in power! Calm down, that equates to 80 horsepower. For 1983, however, multi-port fuel injection raised output to 88 horsepower, and a five-speed manual was standard (yep, they were all four speeds up until 1983).
This uprated GT was a far better proto-GTI than the embarrassing SS ever was. Now, besides the increased oomph, the GT traded the SS model’s dumb stripes for spoilers and fog lights, and the suspension was tuned differently with the option of metric alloy wheels shod in 165/70 R 365 TRX tires. Yes, following in the path of the Mustang, this performance Ford used Michelin’s new standard of tire where inch wheel diameters like 13s or 14s on other Escorts were traded for all-metric dimensions in a new standard for rolling stock that would sweep the industry.
Just kidding; as our Adrian Clarke wrote about, TRX “system” essentially became the Sony Betamax of tires, adopted by virtually nobody. They were quickly discontinued as options and today are only available as ungodly expensive replacements (and they don’t necessarily perform any better than other contemporary performance rubber). That’s why you’ll probably never see an old Ford Escort rolling around on these TRX wheels (if you even do see any Ford Escort rolling around at all).
Regardless, this new Escort GT (and nearly identical Mercury Lynx RS twin) was actually something to be reckoned with. You can see here in a Motorweek test that our man John Davis called it “right up there with the GTI”. He’s Autopian’s favorite car reviewer and got his salary from public television, so there’s no way that John could be lying to us, right?
Inside, you did get some pretty nice-looking sport seats with those Recaro-style donut hole headrests filled with nets so you could actually see out the back of the car. It lacks only plaid upholstery.
It’s amazing how big the transformation of the sporting Escort was in just twenty-four months, from a sticker-covered joke in 1981 to a rather legitimate “hot hatch.” Still, that turned out to be just the beginning.
The EXPeriment Fails
When most of you Ford fans think of a sporty version of Ford’s smallest car at the time, you probably imagine the rather odd-looking variant with sleepy eyes, the Escort EXP (and its twin, the Lynx LN7).
By removing the rear seat from an Escort two-door hatch, Ford had what they thought was the basis for a two-seater that might rival imported sports cars for buyers who couldn’t see beyond the new (sort of) sleeker body.
If you thought that low performance was a detriment to the standard Escort hatches and wagon, imagine what it was like trying to sell a “sports coupe” with such limited power. Ford sold over 98,000 EXPs when it debuted in 1982, but that dropped off a cliff to less than 20,000 units by the next year. Clearly, something needed to change.
What Ford offered was an SVO-developed EXP with a turbocharged version of the 1.6-liter motor, pumping out a strong-for-the-time 120 horsepower.
You want another road test? Here’s our man John with the EXP out on the test track. I really want to get a statue of Mr. Davis to put on my dashboard, Saint Christopher style, to ensure good sixty-to-zero stops.
The addition of the Turbo really didn’t change the EXP’s fortunes; sales were still low for the faux sports car. However, while the existence of the Turbo EXP is rather well documented, even most enthusiasts are unaware that this motor made its way into the more run-of-the-mill GT econobox. It’s about time that they learned.
Nice Try, GTI
I know what you’re thinking: Are you really sure this Escort GT Turbo really existed? Well, I found plenty of literature that seems to prove that it did, like this 1984 brochure lists the turbo as an available option. It’s pretty much identical to the regular GT except for a TURBO decal on the back and tiny TURBOs on the front fenders. Also, the soon-to-be-obsolete TRX alloys were standard:
The 1984 models featured a much, much nicer rounded dashboard that you can see in the lower corner of the above brochure pages. The 1981-83 editions had this slabby mess that looked painfully late seventies:
So the rounded replacement was a huge improvement; even better than the boxy thing in the concurrent VW GTIs if you ask me. Here’s a closeup:
There were advertisements made for the Turbo that I remember seeing as a kid, yet never seeing one on the road:
For 1985, before the more dramatic change to the 1985 ½ models, the Turbo yet again appears in a brochure:
With 120 horsepower on tap, it had close to twice the 69 BHP of the first 1981 Escort. I couldn’t find a road test of one, but tests of the turbo-powered EXP list zero to sixty times in around 9 seconds or less. Well, isn’t the EXP a smaller, lighter car? Actually, no! Despite the lack of rear seat and almost identical size, the EXP supposedly weighed around 100 to 150 pounds more than the Escort GT hatch, meaning that, if anything, that five-passenger car would have been faster than the “sports car” Escort.
Now, nine seconds to sixty is not neck-snapping territory, but it would beat a 1984 Volkswagen GT handily by almost a second; one would assume a Civic Si would also be in the Ford’s rear view mirror as well. I’m not about to claim that the Escort offered more refinement than the VW or Honda, but the turbo would indeed shut them down in a straight line, fair and square. Despite this, the imports shut the Escort GT Turbo down in the sales race like a 5.0 against a Festiva. What happened?
Records of the Escort GT Turbo’s production are tough to find, but most sources claim that only around 1000 were made for 1984, with an indeterminate number made for the shortened 1985 run. A thousand cars out of 273,000 Escorts sold for 1984! You want really obscure? Well, this ain’t Mercury Monday, but there appears to have been a turbocharged version of the GT’s twin, the Lynx RS Turbo. Exactly how many Lynx RS Turbo examples hit the streets is another mystery, but one would guess that finding one today would be like finding an Azerbaijani restaurant in central Iowa (well, I couldn’t find one when I was there).
This Turbo Barely Got Hatched
The reasons for the market failure might have had less to do with the Turbo Escort itself and more about the cars it was in competition with internally. My guess is that Ford simply didn’t promote the non-EXP Escort turbo in an attempt to let their slow-selling so-called sports car gain as much momentum as it could with the new blower option. The GT hatch was obviously a far better value proposition, and it’s not like the GT was suffering in the sales department like the weird two-seat car was.
The bigger issue was probably price. An Escort GT Turbo priced out at only around $1000 less than a Mustang GT; a totally different kind of car, but one that would ostensibly seen as “much more car” without any connection to an econobox. Remember, in 1984 the idea of $50,000 plus hot-hatch like a performance Civic would have been unfathomable.
Midway through the 1985 model year, the Escort GT was reintroduced with a high-output, normally aspirated 1.9-liter motor with 108 horsepower and more conventional wheels and tires. Performance still trailed behind the turbo, but the lower cost for production and resulting lower MSRP for just a few fewer horses put an end to the turbo.
The late-nineties Escort GTs were certainly fun, as I am certain our many, many Gen X readers will tell me in the comments from their experiences of riding in or owning one. Still, the idea of an Escort that could spool up its little turbo and beat the vaunted GTI fair and square is something that just adds to the allure of this mysterious and elusive bit of Ford history.
Top graphic image: Ford
I think the turbo was significantly faster than the 1.9 that followed going by those EXP test numbers against an anecdote. I went to a shop one time with my FWD ’83 Subaru GL sedan and one of the other kids there had a reportedly mildly modified Escort 1.9 and he said he recognized my car (it was somewhat distinctive apart from being uncommon) and that he couldn’t catch me after traffic cleared on the highway one time before asking what I had done to it. I had no idea anyone was trying to keep up, I was just driving as I did back then. Anyway, I asked him if he wanted the truth or to feel good. I did nothing to it except removing a high beam to run a “ram air” intake that I don’t think did anything except reduce loss of power in hot weather (normally pulled air from right behind the radiator). On a good day with favorable winds, that Subaru could hit 60 in about 13 seconds according to a G-meter (I think that’s what it was called—anyone remember those?). Of course, we weren’t drag racing and the Subaru did have a solid torque band, but if the heavier turbo EXP pulled 9 and squeezed into the 16s in the 1/4 (which is pretty damn impressive for the time), it had to be a lot faster than the small HP difference on paper would indicate.
GenX here spent lots of time in Ford Escorts in the mid to late 1980s and they were all garbage and I knew they were garbage at the time.
Mine ’86 Escort was the polar opposite of the GT, it was the Pony – two doors and a hatch, four forward gears and not much else.
But I loved that car, it took plenty of abuse and kept on ticking. My first (and so far only) speeding ticket was in that car…the needle was buried back around on “5”. The state trooper said he clocked me at 79, wrote it up for 65. If that Caprice had been a few seconds earlier, he would have caught me going Mach 0.9 and no amount of mercy would have helped.
On the television show “My Name is Earl”, I learned that putting the word Turbo on the doors increased the vehicles value. Of course in the TV show, someone added the turbo with a paint brush or rattle can while the car itself had no such hardware.
What?!?! Sorry, Bish, WTVJ’s Bob Mayer is this Autopian’s favorite car reviewer.
He was before Motorweek, too, if I recall. I LOVE looking at his reviews of the absolute garbage of the time.
Bob’s a real gearhead; retired now but still into cars and it would be great if we could get an interview.
I do feel sorry for car reviewers of the malaise era. They were given some right awful crap to review.
But 110% yes to getting an interview with Bob!
While the turbo was dropped, the 85 1/2 facelifted GT was much improved, very popular and I knew several people who had them. I had a used and abused 83 GL, which was terrible.
When I was in university in Michigan, I had a buddy whose dad was some very bigwig at Ford Motor Company. Apparently the dad had access to all manner of interesting development vehicles.
This friend of mine drove what was possibly a “one of none” car, a Mercury Lynx GT Turbo.
No, take a look at the post- there was a Lynx RS Turbo on offer (right there in the brochure), so at least one of very few.
Yeah, gee I can’t imagine why these didn’t sell well compared to the Mustangs of all flavors on the same fricking sales floor.
Ford had a real opportunity to take Mercury upmarket in the late 70s and through the 80s. They should have sold only the hotted up versions of the Escort as the Lynx and focus on that. I still think there would have been a big enough gap between the Lynx RS Turbo and the Cougar at the time price-wise where the two wouldn’t have been competitively shopped like the Escort and Mustang.
A friend in high school in about ’89 had an EXP Turbo. It was mildly entertaining but incredibly unreliable. Specifically, the turbo, which ate itself with about 30,000 miles on the car. It has been a while, but it had something to do with the car being shut off right after being driven a bit hard, before the heat in the turbo had been able to dissipate, which cooked it.
It wasn’t nearly as much fun as the Mk1 GTI or the Dodge Colt Turbo with “Twin-Stick.” Nor was it anywhere near as good as the Civic Si/CRX. Hell, it wasn’t anywhere close to the “Chevy Nova GSi” that came out around the same time.
I did read numerous accounts of unreliability, no different than the early turbo versions of the Pinto 2.3 engine. Oiling of something that was still spinning at like 100,000 revs for minutes after it stopped getting oil I assume was not a good thing?
Who woulda thunk!
The Euro-designed Escorts were infinitely better looking than the American versions. It is funny that Ford felt the need to cover the U.S. version with tacky chrome trim about the time that Chevrolet was removing the chrome from their “sport” models and badging them as “Eurosport.”
My brother in law had a 1 gen. Absolute base model, stick shift, no ac, baby blue. It was a cockroach. He could get 40 mpg and drove it cross country several times. It had close to 200k on it when he traded it for a Ranger.
I never understood the small price difference between the Mustang GT and the Escort GT, was Ford making slimmer margins on the Fox? That and as I recall gas was relatively cheap in the md 80’s, so, why buy the Escort?
Similar with the Mustang GT vs SVO. Most everyone went with the tried and true GT, which was a smidge cheaper?
I mean I can see the SVO being a little more, it had more modern (Euro!!) styling, better suspension and larger wheels (I believe?), better power to weight ratio. The Escort was the inverse to all of that. Though I’m sure a lot of ‘mericans turned their noses up at turbo I4s, even though it was rated a 5HP more then the 5.0
And 4 wheel disc brakes. I believe the wheels were metric, so tires were expensive, but I was partial to the SVO.
I didn’t have to decide since I had to make due with my 77 302 Maverick, so I blacked out my trim and tinted windows.
Mantra in High School was no car with 4cyl or 4 doors was cool, not that many of us had a choice.
It was reportedly about 1000 bucks less, which was hardly chump change in 1984.
My first car was an 83 Escort GLX with the 1.6 and 5 speed and moonroof. It wasnt fast but it would leave a tire mark and outrun most of the VW Beetles in my town. It held up to my wringing every ounce of power it had out of it. I kinda miss it. It was a nice little car back in the day even if it was an economy car.
2nd gen Escorts dominated the parking lot at my high school – there was only one 3rd gen and one 1st gen (a few lucky kids had Foxbody Mustangs or Jeeps . . . there was even a couple Probes – but I digress).
I have lots of fond memories of riding in the 2nd gens. The 1st gen only struck me for exactly how garbage it was – no power, terrible interior, even for the time. Slapping a turbo on one would be cool for the effect and the novelty of the 0-60 time, but a polished turd is still a turd.
I always like the looks of the 80s Escort GT’s. Still do. I believe the GT version had a different head and multiport fuel injection. My mechanic father-in-law ended up with one with bad head someone brought in. He had trouble trying to find a replacement head that wasn’t $$$. He ended up just parting it out.
Picture #6 – Boy – “Escort SS!” Girl – “I do not think that word means what you think it means.”
former owner of an ’87 lynx xr3 (escort gt in mercury guise) here: fun cars on backroads!
i took the decidedly superior interior out of an ’84 lynx rs, which jazzed up the little hot hatch quite a bit. Salty winters did a number to these cars. most had evaporated by the mid/late 90’s
Working at a ford dealer’s parts dept in the mid 90’s, i NEVER saw any escrat turbuhs, despite looking
Around 1000 cars total, Will. That’s rarer than most US market Ferraris, so you’d be unlikely to find one.
I remember seeing ads/articles about these, but never saw one in real life.
Escort gets blown. That is unusual.
Back in the late 70s/ early 80s, a lot of those small underpowered cars had a ‘Turbo’ button. It was labelled as ‘A/C’. Push it and feel the surge in power!