THE KA COSWORTH
The humble Ford Ka isn’t usually the first car that comes to mind when you think of performance cars. For our non-European readers who may not be familiar, the Ka is a small front wheel drive city car which has been around since 1996. Of the different variations, the SportKa with its 1.6 litre 8-valve engine producing 93BHP was as performance orientated as they came. With all this in mind, you can imagine my intrigue when I spotted this Ka sporting an almost stock exterior – save for the wheels (Compomotive TH) and centre exit exhaust. Naturally, a closer inspection was required.
My face would have said it all when I realised what was hiding under the bonnet – Ford’s famous 2.0 litre turbocharged Cosworth YB. An engine which in mild tune makes around 300BHP, all in a car that weighs circa 900KGs stock.
A look to the interior revealed a stripped and caged workplace with bucket seats, harnesses, digi-dash, switch panel and a hydraulic handbrake.
A look under the rear of the car provided even more smiles …
… with the Ka having been converted to rear wheel drive. There are so many things under here that I’ll never appreciate but anyone can appreciate the work and craftsmanship involved. I’ve sourced the full 42-page and counting build thread on Passion Ford if anyone is interested in finding out more about this sleeper KA.
So the next time you approach a Ka at a set of traffic lights, at the very least try and make sure that it isn’t this one.
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Paddy McGrath
paddy@speedhunters.com
Ford Fair 2012 on Speedhunters
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- The Ka Cosworth 1920×1200 Photo by Paddy McGrath
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- The Ka Cosworth 1920×1200 Photo by Paddy McGrath
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- The Ka Cosworth 1920×1200 Photo by Paddy McGrath
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- The Ka Cosworth 1920×1200 Photo by Paddy McGrath
What's up with the mufflers? Why does it split up and then merge back?
carlomdy probably the best way to package enough silencing under the car.
Ok, now the ideas are REALLY pooling in my brain!
Respect on the build.. but I can't overlook the fugly Ka bodyshell! :|On a Puma, or Fiesta would be nice!
How cool!
Sees longitudinally mounted engine, knows what's coming...
That is an INCREDIBLE sleeper. Man, that owner should be proud.
The quality of those RWD conversions are a show on their own terms alone! (i respect it , even not liking the body of the old KA)
OMG that's rad, and I LOATHE KAs. I guess we could call this the Ford KAsworth... get it!? :P
Ah jeez, Absolution beat me to it :(
sean klingelhoefer Sean, please know, I WILL SAVOR THIS MOMENT FOR ALL ETERNITY. Mostly because I know I'll never be as good as a photographer as you. And the high's gone. Now I'm sad. I'm done savoring. Crap.
Absolution sean klingelhoefer I'm ashamed to know either of you.
Cool build, probably has awful handling though.
Jmayhem The Ka in standard trim is often praised for its handling abilities - with a wheel at each corner it's pretty easy to draw the clichéd 'go-kart' handling qualities comparison.
(A stock Ka is four inches shorter and three inches narrower than an Escort Cosworth as a reference BTW)
that is very interesting, i think its pretty fun to drive, like a RWD fiat
holy crap!
Cool build! Looks like a blast to drive.
It will be perfect with AWD.
Paddy, I'm sure you meant the Ka-sworth?
Slow clap, with a single tear. :) That's an awesome build. :)
i always liked this generation of ka for looks only, but man i keep coming back to this. I can't get enough of it, there's not a single part of this car i don't like. i love how clean the body looks, and that centre-exit exhaust looks really well done
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