Car statistics
Ford Escort RS Cosworth statistics
How many Ford Escort RS Cosworths are still on the road in Great Britain, how many are declared off the road, and how the RS Cosworth compares with other versions of the Ford Escort. Built from DVLA licensing records.
- Licensed in Great Britain 402 −2.0% on a year earlier
- Declared SORN 921 Off the road, not taxed
- Still registered 80.7% Other Ford Escort versions 1.9%
- Peak year 1996 1,576 licensed
- Share of Ford Escorts 2.8% of those licensed or SORN
- Declared off the road 69.6% of those still registered are SORN
How many Ford Escort RS Cosworths are left in Great Britain?
There were 402 Ford Escort RS Cosworths licensed in Great Britain at the end of June 2026, and a further 921 declared off the road (SORN). The licensed count is 74.5% lower than its peak of 1,576 in 1996. More are declared SORN than are licensed: 69.6% of those still registered are off the road.
Ford Escort RS Cosworths licensed and SORN in Great Britain
This data records SORN from 2007, so the SORN line starts there.
| Year | Licensed | Declared SORN |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 1,055 | – |
| 1995 | 1,352 | – |
| 1996 | 1,576 | – |
| 1997 | 1,486 | – |
| 1998 | 1,387 | – |
| 1999 | 1,357 | – |
| 2000 | 1,244 | – |
| 2001 | 1,197 | – |
| 2002 | 1,161 | – |
| 2003 | 1,142 | – |
| 2004 | 1,100 | – |
| 2005 | 1,011 | – |
| 2006 | 852 | – |
| 2007 | 800 | 537 |
| 2008 | 678 | 619 |
| 2009 | 578 | 658 |
| 2010 | 532 | 676 |
| 2011 | 478 | 736 |
| 2012 | 443 | 766 |
| 2013 | 389 | 901 |
| 2014 | 396 | 880 |
| 2015 | 379 | 911 |
| 2016 | 373 | 949 |
| 2017 | 344 | 999 |
| 2018 | 308 | 1,047 |
| 2019 | 309 | 1,042 |
| 2020 | 273 | 1,082 |
| 2021 | 293 | 1,048 |
| 2022 | 256 | 1,065 |
| 2023 | 244 | 1,074 |
| 2024 | 240 | 1,066 |
| 2025 | 239 | 1,071 |
| 2026 | 402 | 921 |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated
Fuel type
Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated
How many Ford Escort RS Cosworths have survived?
80.7% of Ford Escort RS Cosworths are still registered (licensed or SORN), measured against the most on the road at any year end since 1994. For other versions of the Ford Escort from the same era, the figure is 1.9%, so Ford Escort RS Cosworths are 43.4 times as likely to have survived.
Share still registered (licensed or SORN)
Compared with 97 other versions of the Ford Escort from the same era.
| Version | Share still registered |
|---|---|
| Ford Escort RS Cosworth | 80.7% |
| Other Ford Escort versions of the same age | 1.9% |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of June 2026 Updated
Ford Escort RS Cosworth engine sizes and fuel types
Of the 246 Ford Escort RS Cosworths licensed in the UK at the end of 2025, 96.3% have an engine of 1,901cc to 2,000cc, and 3.3% have an engine of 2,001cc to 2,100cc.
Engine sizes, end of 2025
DVLA records engine size in 100cc bands.
| Engine size | Share of those licensed |
|---|---|
| 1,901cc to 2,000cc 237 licensed | 96.3% |
| 2,001cc to 2,100cc 8 licensed | 3.3% |
| Other sizes 1 licensed | 0.4% |
Source:DfT / DVLA End of 2014 to end of 2025 Updated
| Engine size | Fuel | Licensed | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,901–2,000cc | Petrol | 235 | 95.5% |
| 2,001–2,100cc | Petrol | 8 | 3.3% |
United Kingdom figures from DfT table VEH0220 (licensed cars at the end of each year, SORN excluded), so they differ slightly from the Great Britain counts elsewhere on this page. This covers cars DVLA records under this version’s name only; the Ford Escort page covers every version. How we use engine sizes.
Ford Escort MOT reliability
We do not show MOT figures for the Ford Escort: 17% of those on the DVLA record are vans, and DVSA's results do not separate car and van tests of the same model.
Other versions of the Ford Escort
Versions of the Ford Escort with their own page. The Ford Escort page covers all 13,890 licensed, whatever the version.
| Version | Licensed | SORN | Still registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Escort RS Turbo | 969 | 3,477 | 27.6% |
| Ford Escort Cabriolet | 726 | 2,425 | 13.0% |
| Ford Escort XR3i | 632 | 2,257 | 3.1% |
| Ford Escort RS2000 | 677 | 1,117 | 52.3% |
| Ford Escort RS Cosworth | 402 | 921 | 80.7% |
| Ford Escort Mexico | 646 | 493 | 14.8% |
| Ford Escort RS Custom | 535 | 369 | 100.0% |
| Ford Escort RS | 444 | 394 | 100.0% |
| Ford Escort GTI | 94 | 636 | 4.9% |
| Ford Escort Popular Plus | 285 | 412 | 5.2% |
| Ford Escort 1100 L | 277 | 347 | 26.0% |
| Ford Escort XR3i Cabriolet | 120 | 502 | 23.7% |
| Ford Escort 1300 L | 294 | 297 | 17.0% |
| Ford Escort 1300 XL | 242 | 248 | 45.2% |
| Ford Escort Ghia Cabriolet | 110 | 378 | 24.0% |
| Ford Escort RS1600i | 195 | 281 | 49.9% |
| Ford Escort 1100 Base | 206 | 238 | 31.1% |
| Ford Escort XR3 | 170 | 262 | 3.5% |
| Ford Escort 1300 GL | 189 | 237 | 6.3% |
| Ford Escort Calypso | 103 | 284 | 17.3% |
| Ford Escort 1300 Base | 156 | 144 | 17.4% |
| Ford Escort RS2000 4x4 | 32 | 235 | 56.4% |
| Ford Escort Ghia X | 36 | 229 | 2.7% |
| Ford Escort 1300E | 144 | 113 | 73.0% |
| Ford Escort 1300 GT | 128 | 109 | 100.0% |
| Ford Escort Deluxe | 97 | 136 | 100.0% |
| Ford Escort Sport | 118 | 103 | 9.0% |
| Ford Escort SI Cabriolet | 31 | 168 | 14.7% |
| Ford Escort Super | 89 | 101 | 92.2% |
| Ford Escort Mexico II | 98 | 76 | 100.0% |
| Ford Escort 1600 Ghia | 51 | 65 | 6.0% |
Data stories to read next
Data sources and methodology
| Figures | Source | Period | Records | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensed and SORN counts | Vehicle licensing statistics Department for Transport | End of June 2026 | 1,323 Ford Escort RS Cosworth records (licensed and SORN) | 2 October 2026 |
- Figures cover Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales). Northern Ireland is not included.
- Licensed counts are vehicles with a current tax or exemption at the end of each year (or the latest quarter). SORN counts are shown separately, from 2007.
- This version groups DVLA’s detailed model names “ESCORT RS COSWORTH”, “ESCORT COSWORTH”. Engine size, gearbox, number of doors and fuel are ignored, so every engine and gearbox counts together.
- Survival compares the number still registered (licensed or SORN) with the most licensed at any year end since 1994, plus any first registered after that year. Other versions are those of the same model whose licensed count peaked in the same years, up to 2001.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.