Street version

Competition version (1996)

Cast iron block, aluminum head construction. Longitudinally mounted.

1994 cm³ , water cooled Cosworth YB series. Garrett AiResearch T35 (T25 post 1994) oil lubricated, water cooled turbo (0.7 bar Max pressure) and intercooler. Mahle forged pistons and heat-treated steel crankshaft and conrods. 2 OHC belt driven and hydraulic tappets. 4 valves per cylinder (45°). Compression ratio 8:1. Oil cooler. Weber-Marelli IAW P8 (Ford EEC IV post 1994) integral engine management (injection and ignition), with 3D cartography. Water to oil heat exchange.

Behr two stage water/air and air/air intercooler.

Max power: 220 Bhp @ 6250 rpm, 290 N/m @ 3500rpm

With T25 turbocharger: 227Bhp @ 5500rpm, 305 Nm @ 2750 rpm

Four cylinder 16-valve two liter Cosworth, Garrett AiResearch T35 turbocharger with FIA 34mm air restrictor.
1997:Hybrid IHI turbocharger and 8 injector inlet manifold
Modified compression ratio, modified crankshaft, all internal cleaned and polished, altered flywheel to suit clutch. All engine internals prepared by Mountune. Cast magnesium sump with mounting for Motorsport 8.5 in front axle, Kevlar sump shield. Three stage intercooler with water injection. Intake temperature maintained at optimum, approx. 40 degrees. Anti turbo lag system, Weber Marelli engine management electronics.
1997: Ford/Pectel T6 engine management

Turbo boost set at approx. 3bar

Engines prepared by Mountune, by 1998 they were prepared by Tom Wilkinshaw Racing (TWR) who also prepared the Arrows F1 engines.

Max power: 312bhp @ 6250 rpm*. Max torque: 450 N/m @ 5000 rpm

All wheel drive Ferguson layout. Center and rear viscous couplers. Epicyclical center differential with 34-66 % F/R torque distribution. Final drive ratio 3.62. Five speed fully synchronized gear box (MT75).

Gear ratios - speed at Max RPM:
1:3.608 - 57 Km/h
2:2.082 - 99 Km/h
3:1.363 - 151 Km/h
4:1 - 206 Km/h
5:0.829 - 233 Km/h
R:3.256

Single dry plate power assisted clutch, Ø240mm.

Rack and pinion steering, 2.45 turns lock to lock variable power assistance.

Six-speed Motorsport gearbox (stock seven-speeder with first removed) H-pattern shift non-sequential. Ratios vary depending on rally. Lightweight hydraulic clutch. Full time four-wheel drive with electronically variable bias. Magnesium axle case. Hand brake disconnects center differential for tight gravel corners.

Mid-97:

Six-speed sequential XTrac box.
Electo-hydraulically controlled front and center differentials, Torsen rear differential for tarmac, ZF rear differential for gravel.

Front: Independent McPherson struts lower control arm (not triangulated!!), coil springs and Fichtel & Sachs gas shock absorbers, 28mm antiroll bar.

Rear: Independent transverse arms, coil springs and Fichtel & Sachs gas shock absorbers, 22mm antiroll bar.

Depends on rally/surface. For tarmac: Bilstein dampers front and rear. Aluminum suspension arms. Coil springs with additional helper springs (dual rate system). Water jackets around dampers for cooling.

Front: Vented disks (278 mm) floating 1 pot calipers.

Rear: Vented Disks (273 mm) floating 1 pot calipers.

Teves ABS (5 sensors).

Spec varies depending on rally. For tarmac, front: Brembo eight-pot calipers with four carbon-metallic pads per caliper, aluminum bell, 380mm cast iron ventilated discs. Water cooled. Rear: 315mm discs with four-pot Brembo calipers, water cooled.

Monocoque steel construction.

Custom-made Ford body shell with unwanted bracketry removed. ACS-prepared shell, including lightweight 18-point roll cage. Air vents added in roof. Quick release bonnet and rear hatch clips. Repsol colors applied to body with minimum paint for reduced weight.

Width: 1738mm

Height: 1360mm

Wheelbase: 2552mm

Front track: 1453mm

Rear track: 1472mm

Laden weight: 1360Kg

Height: 1360mm

Wheelbase: 2552mm

Laden weight: 1230Kg

0-100Km/h acceleration: 5.8S

Max speed: 232Km/h

0-1000m acceleration: 25.8S

Varies depending on spec. Acceleration: 0-60 in approx. 3 seconds, no more than 3.5 sec. in any spec. Top speed: 160km/h to 220km/h.

Racing seats fully tested for impact resistance, tailor-made to fit driver. Steering column adjustable for height, different length wheel bosses used to suit driver. Adjustable pedal box. Aluminum mounting bolts used wherever possible to trim weight. Aircraft-style self-sealing fuel cell with quick-release twin fuel pumps inside tank. All encased in aluminum shell. Fully fireproofed hosing runs throughout the interior, including fuel lines, water injection lines, electrical wiring. Aircraft-style wiring harnesses differ on each rally depending on conditions. Driver information limited to rev. counter and warning lights. Brake bias adjuster knob. System monitor top center dash used by navigator and downloads to service crews for computer diagnosis. Center dash switches for heated screen, fans, fuel pump, lights, starting, ignition. Coralba navigation equipment, radio and intercom set mounted on co-driver's door. Horn button in co-driver footwell useful for alerting spectators when out of control. Map pockets.

The car is almost "undrivable" in standard spec. Huge turbo lag, not enough power (compared to the weight) and overboost time as low as 3S are all contributing to the feeling the car could do much more. On top there's no way you can get into overboost unless you keep the gas pedal to the floor and keep it there (a 1mm lift stops the car). I highly recommend a level 1 chip modification which is widely available.

Some cars (in the series with big turbos) suffer from a mismatch between the synchromeshes of the 3rd and 4th gear. When you push to the red line in 3rd or 4th, gear changes cause loud (and unpleasant) noises. These same cars need a silent-bloc upgrade in order to allow proper tyre wear. These is normally covered by the guaranty.

The groupA version suffers from understeer in very tight corners when not using "active" differentials. WRC and groupA cars that use active diffs do not display this character.