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Cosworth, real men cars by Cartell’s Jeff Aherne

Last Monday on Motormouth we discussed the controversial topic of what defines a man’s car versus a woman’s car. Needless to say it stirred emotion. However just to ensure that my opinion is fully understood, here are a few cars that are driven by more men than women.

Subaru Impreza CS400 STI Cosworth and Ford Focus RS500

Why am I even bothering to explain why these are mens cars? Fine just because I have to, here it goes. Both are 2.5 litres, with 750bhp between them. Both come in a black that would camouflage them on a 1960’s coal mans truck. Both hit 100kph in less that 6 with the Scooby hitting it in 3.7 seconds (Damn). The RS500 has pivoting-knuckle front suspension and limited slip diff, plus wide arches and 235/35/19 tyres. The Scooby has four wheel drive with driver-controllable degree of centre diff locking.

Up until the CS400 I was a true blue. Ford RS all the way baby. I hated the original Scooby because it killed my boyhood dream. The Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth was the ultimate working mans two fingers to the rich. It destroyed BMW M3’s and Porsches. But then enter the Scooby and even though the Cosworth subsequently propelled the Escort, it didn’t stop the demise of the Ford RS Cosworth brand. I hoped that one day Ford would resurrect the RS500 Cosworth. It’s like in the film Mr and Mrs Smith where Brad met Angelina. Prior to this he was with Jenny. We all loved Jenny. Interestingly, Friends started in 1993 around the same time as the RS Cosworth began to fade and the Scooby appeared. We knew that Brad suited Jenny and they looked great just like the Ford RS500 Cosworth. But then Angelina, well she was hot too. Like the Scooby she had appeal but Jen was Jen, the girl from next door, the Ford RS Cosworth brand. When Brad went to Angelina however it became clear. Cosworth works with Subaru and we just wonder why it didn’t happen earlier. I can understand why Cosworth (Brad) paired up with Subaru and would gladly drive the Scooby CS400 now. Can women forgive Brad for leaving the RS500 brand? Of course another thing about men is that we would still drive the RS500 if we could!

While the above is a bit of laugh, it is clear that there are cars which men perceive to be our cars even if women drive them. And even though brand loyalty is important, if the car has the RS or now CS factor we can easily switch.