Ken Block does more than simply make grandiose stunt-driving videos…the dude is a legit racer, something that I’ve seen in person. (I also watched as he bailed a rally car that was going up in flames, too.) A black Ford with serious turbocharging, four wheels driving, and Alex Gelsomino riding shotgun is his calling card, but for the upcoming Oregon Trail Rally, he’s bringing out something different than his normal Fiesta R5…a 1993 Ford Escort RS Cosworth, one of the OG rally machines that Europeans have known about forever and that American eyes don’t normally get to see in any shape or form. With the Cossie finally of legal age to be allowed on public roads in the United States, Block is bent that this car will be throwing up dust very soon.
But like any good racing machine, you have to do a shakedown run. You have to learn what you can and can’t get away with, you need to know where the machine fails and succeeds. That means some trail time is needed to get the Escort prepped and ready for it’s outing in Oregon. Step in for a closer look at the machine and get an idea of what is going through Block’s head as the car gets shaken down in the Californian desert:
