Showing posts with label RS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label RS. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

FORD DAY

On this day in history (1903) The Ford Motor Company was founded. Here's a selection of some Ford related books from Veloce.



Visit www.veloce.co.uk to see our full range of Ford publications.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

TWO BRAND NEW RALLY BOOKS FROM VELOCE!

-PRESS RELEASE-

Two brand new Rally books from Veloce!

Ford Escort RS Cosworth & World Rally Car (ISBN 978-1-84584-181-2)
Fiat 131 Abarth (ISBN 978-1-84584-182-9)

Available now (UK & USA)
Each just £14.99 UK / $29.95 USA

-Full, detailed career history
-Complete story of concept, design and development
-Unrivalled coverage of people and influences behind the cars
-Step-by-step account of technical evolution
-Description of cars: why, how and when evolved
-Details of principal people involved
-Packed with pictures
-Comparison with rivals
-Complete listing of important successes and ‘works’ models

DESCRIPTION
Individual Rally Giants books focus on the cars and personalities that stand out from the crowd in the long and exciting history of rallying. The books tell the story of cars and people that have left a big impression in the record books, and the minds of rally enthusiasts the world over.

Great value for money, these books are packed with pictures, facts and feats from the annals of International rallying. Collect the whole series!

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

BOOK OF THE MONTH IN AUSTRALIAN CLASSIC CAR

Ford Escort RS Cosworth & World Rally Car by Graham Robson is awarded Book of the Month in the January edition of Australian Classic Car Magazine!

In his ‘Rally Giants’ series, Graham Robson aims to describe the shift in motor sport from reliability trials to the modern idea of road rallying. Today’s rally vehicles are engineered and driven with a focus on speed and strength first, and reliability second. They are high performance machines - with road-going homologation specials built pretty much as an afterthought to comply with regulations - not existing road cars tuned to stay the distance. Events are composed of a series of shorter intense races on closed road special stages instead of one long distance to endure over public roads.

Robson’s series approaches these changes through the development and competition histories of milestone vehicles, like the Ford Escort RS Cosworth in this book. By the late 1980s, Ford Motorsport (FM) was faced with the erosion of Ford’s competition status since the 1970s, an era dominated by the successes of the Escort Mk1 and 2. The RS200 had been too little, too late to stop the slide against Audi, Toyota, Subaru and Mitsubishi, Fiat, Peugeot and Lancia. The Sierra had looked promising but was too bulky and heavy to continue as it was.

It was critical that the new Cosworth succeed. Not only had Ford been the only British make consistently at the top level of world motor spot but it had also consistently made its technology and developments available to private buyers. This fact brings Robson to point out why new rally and race cars are important at all. The release of their homologation models affects car buyers’ expectations and thus, other manufacturers. Customers learn quickly what is possible from one year to the next, and expect to be able to buy it.

For example, once 4 wheel drive was accepted in rally cars after the Audi Quattro’s precedent, it was adopted for the Sierra Cosworth and refined in the lighter, nimbler RS to create the rallying breakthrough Ford needed. Car showrooms consequently began to reflect these changes.

Stuart Turner, director of FM at the outset of the project, and his team had all agreed that their next rally car had to be based on an existing mainstream model. “Why don’t we see if we can take the platform and running gear from a Sierra Cosworth 4x4, shorten it, then see if an Escort body will fit on it?” This line of development was more or less followed. The RS was 4½ years in the making, under four different directors, but it was worth it. In 1993, its first year, it won five World Championship rallies.

Readers will gain insight into Ford’s engineering methods and enjoy reading about the Ford Motorsport design team’s dynamics – the members really did work together. As one person’s idea was pursued, problems naturally emerged which other members would solve. Later chapters in the book explain the need to develop a World Rally Car, and the changes required to turn the Cosworth into that car.

Photo buffs will relish the colour images in the ‘Rally Years’ section taken on location across Europe, Africa and Asia - wherever the RS was competing. Personally, I liked reading the collection of biographies of engineers, rally drivers and other influential people in the Cosworth’s development. Among many team drivers taking the RS Cosworth to victory, Carlos Sainz was a standout, driving during 1996, a top year for the RS. An early driver worth getting to know was Francois Delacourt, and dashing, talented Ari Vatanen is regarded as a true enthusiast’s hero.

Click HERE for more info about the book!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

NEW FORD FOCUS RS

In the 40-year story of Ford RS, the marque has been applied sparingly, merited by only the most high-performance Ford machines of the time.

Six years have passed since the last Ford RS – the Mk1 Focus RS – finished its strictly limited production run. Now the famous badge has returned for its league of devoted fans and a new generation of performance car enthusiasts.

This new Focus RS is the product of Ford Team RS, headed by Jost Capito, a committed car enthusiast and racer. Alongside Capito is a small team of dedicated performance car and motorsport engineering specialists, led by Chief Programme Engineer, John Wheeler, whose own expertise stretches over 20 years of Ford performance and motorsport vehicles.

Team RS works hand-in-hand with Ford of Europe experts from across the engineering spectrum to create Ford’s performance road car range. More than 100 engineers have been involved in Focus RS and every one understood the weight of expectation that greets a new Ford RS model.

The 2009 production start for Focus RS has marked the 10th anniversary of Ford Focus and 40 years of Ford RS. More info:www.fordmedia.eu
Source:newspress

Fans of the Ford RS badge and its famous history will find interesting reading in these great books available from Veloce:

Rallye Sport Fords – The inside story by Mike Moreton.
The inside story of how Rallye Sport Fords were created by Ford in the 70s and 80s, enabling works’ and private teams to be fully competitive in national and international rallies and races, to win many championships, and, for RS cars to be bought by over 100,000 enthusiast customers. With over 100 photos and illustrations, many previously unpublished this previously untold story is brought vividly to life. Click here for more info.


Ford Escort RS Cosworth & World Rally Car (Rally Giants Series) by Graham Robson.
The Escort RS Cosworth, which began rallying in 1993, was one of the most ingenious designs of all time, and eventually became Ford's most successful model since the legendary Escorts of the 1970s. The combination of Cosworth power, four-wheel-drive transmission, and an effective aerodynamic package made it a Rally Giant in all conditions, and, until the all-new Focus WRC was launched in 1999, this generation of Escorts was the most effective rally car that Ford had ever produced. Click here for more info.

Monday, October 6, 2008

FORD ESCORT RS COSWORTH PICS ON FLICKR.COM



Just uploaded some great action shots taken from Ford Escort RS Cosworth & World Rally Car. Be sure to take a look at the Veloce flickr photostream as it's the place where we share some of the fantastic and rare photographs we see here in production!

Friday, September 12, 2008

NEW FORD FOCUS RS

Even though the new Ford Focus RS isn't available untill early next year, Ford's UK dealer network has been inundated with orders. So far, 1000 customer orders have been placed, 40% of which are said to be making a specific request for the unique Electric Green shade that was was previewed at the British International Motor Show in London in July. Other popular requests amongst performance car enthusiasts are Frozen White and Electric Blue.

The new model marks the latest chapter in the Rallye Sport badge story, which has played such an important role in Ford's rich motorsport heritage and dates back to the iconic Ford Escort RS1600 in 1970.

Find out more about the history of RS in the Veloce book Rallye Sport Fords – The inside story by Mike Moreton. The inside story of how Rallye Sport Fords were created by Ford in the 70s and 80s, enabling works’ and private teams to be fully competitive in national and international rallies and races, to win many championships, and, for RS cars to be bought by over 100,000 enthusiast customers. With over 100 photos and illustrations, many previously unpublished this previously untold story is brought vividly to life.



click here for more info about the book

Friday, July 4, 2008

Rallye Sport Heritage



Since 1970, the RS (Rallye Sport) badge has identified Ford's highest-performing road cars.

The Rallye Sport name has been applied to 21 models, which often proved their worth by winning in motorsport as well as in the market-place. Along with the "ST" badge, the "RS" designation has never been applied lightly, with each and every RS model and derivative offering a special blend of performance, roadholding, vehicle safety, refinement - and great value for money.



Many Rallye Sport Fords have used wind-tunnel testing to evolve innovative aerodynamic features, such as the rear aerofoils fitted to Sierra and Escort RS Cosworths. All have pushed the boundaries of technology, and have provided exceptional stability and handling.



The Ford RS brand has gained tremendous respect over the years and the new-generation Focus RS upholds the tradition of the high-performance Ford engineered for the true enthusiast.



Here is the complete list of Rallye Sport Models:







The all-new Focus RS!





New from Veloce Publishing!

Rallye Sport Fords – The inside story

By Mike Moreton






Features



• Why Ford decided to produce high performance cars.

• Why Ford created the AVO facility to build Rallye Sport cars.

• How Ford RS cars were conceived and approved for production.

• Insight into the management processes of a multi-national corporation.

• Who was behind the creation of successful Rallye Sport Cars.

• What had to be done to be sure of making rally/race winners.

• Inside story of creation and manufacture of RS200 Rally Car.

• Inside story of creation and production of World Champion Sierra RS500.

• Why did thousands of enthusiastic customers buy Rallye Sport cars.

• What was it like having a career in the Motor Industry.

Description



The inside story of how Rallye Sport Fords were created by Ford in the 70s and 80s, enabling works’ and private teams to be fully competitive in national and international rallies and races, to win many championships, and, for RS cars to be bought by over 100,000 enthusiast customers. With over 100 photos and illustrations, many previously unpublished this previously untold story is brought vividly to life.



click here for more info



source headlineauto.co.uk