The "Sportscar" That Ford Would Like To Have Back

The 1980s were an insufferable decade for American auto manufacturers. A major oil crisis, strict emissions legislation, and hurried engineering resulted in the “Big Three” producing their ugliest, most anaemic, and least reliable vehicles ever. Gone were the glory days of the big, V8-powered American muscle car. The massive influx of Toyotas, Datsuns, Hondas and other Japanese econoboxes meant that GM, Chrysler, and Ford were barely competitive in their home market. The ominous cloud of bankruptcy loomed ever-darker over Detroit and its beloved auto industry. Not surprisingly, the amount of time and effort that went into making sportscars was slashed, resulting in some tragically underdeveloped offerings like the Pontiac Fiero and the Dodge Daytona.

But nothing could compare to the steaming pile of hot trash that was the Ford EXP.

It’s hard to imagine that the company that produced the Mustang, Focus RS and the awe-inspiring GT would call the EXP (above) a sportscar. But that was the stark reality in 1982, when pretty much everything about the American auto industry went wrong. The front end of the car sums it all up—its face looks as dejected as Pepe the Frog, and that’s a pretty accurate representation of the whole car. But the weird and unique styling could barely hide the fact that the EXP borrowed heavily from the absolutely rotten Ford Escort, which wasn’t considered remotely sporty even in the 80s. Surely, though, it would be a fun little hot hatch with a bit of power and some rear-wheel drive, right?

Um, well…maybe. But Ford built the EXP with the same engine and drivetrain as the Escort. Ford did make some tweaks to the weight of the EXP—in that they made it 200 pounds heavier than the Escort. So, technically, it’s a sportscar, but only if croquet falls into your definition of “sporty”. Eventually, Ford decided to offer a “high-output” version of the 1.6-litre carburetted four-cylinder standard engine. With headers, improved airflow, higher compression and high-lift cams, the power output increased from 70 horsepower to…80 horsepower. I would say that the engine wasn’t a ball of fire, but considering that the EXP was only a few years removed from the Pinto, I’m going to go on a limb and suggest that many of them actually became fireballs.

So the EXP had none of the benefits of a proper sportscar, but it sure had all the drawbacks of one. The interior had about as much space as a floppy disk, necessitating the removal of the back seats. But because the EXP was essentially an Escort facsimile, you could easily put some Escort rear seats in the aft of the cabin. That sounds just fine in theory, but most people would probably suffer from excruciating discomfort if they tried to utilize those rear seats. Especially if they have a head and neck. Not surprisingly, the low-swooping roof line also compromised rear visibility; while the uncomfortably stretched front end made the EXP feel more like a boat than a hatchback. Except I highly doubt that it would be seaworthy, even before it rusted away to a pile of paint chips.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Even in the 1980s, when most of Ford’s product line was miserable, the EXP was a turkey. And buyers reacted accordingly—it performed about as well in the markets as it did in the streets. In other words, slower than Vaseline out of the jar. A reasonable price tag might have stopped the bleeding, but the market disappointment wouldn’t even let a scab form. Safe to say, it was…EXPensive.

Yet, for some bewildering reason, Ford thought that it was a good idea to try and make it better. Predictably, it was an effort in futility. The Turbo Coupe version was added in 1984, which yielded a warm but laggy 120 horsepower. This definitely helped the EXP, but better cars could be bought for the same (and perhaps even less) money. Amazingly, Ford even recruited the services of Formula 1 titan McLaren in a vain attempt to turn the EXP into something worth talking about. Only 2 ASC McLaren EXPs were ever built, though. Despite the incredible exclusivity, I’m pretty sure that there won’t be a massive queue of collectors looking to add the McEscort to their collection.

By now, you would have thought the EXP would have died a horrible commercial death by isolation. Incredibly, though, there was a second generation of the EXP put out to pasture (sorry, I meant market). Although the front face lost its froggy ugliness, the rest of the car wasn’t much of an improvement over the 1st-generation model; and Ford finally pulled the plug after only two years. Even then, FoMoCo might not have pulled the plug if not for the fact that consumers balked at the thought of a front-wheel drive Mustang. By the time Ford realized that the Mustang would have to remain a rear-wheel drive car, the factories were already tooled up to build the front-wheel drive coupe intended to replace it. The resulting product, renamed the Ford Probe, made the EXP redundant. Ford made the logical decision to kill off the one that sold the least, and the death of the EXP was hardly a shocker.

Today, EXPs are becoming rarer and rarer, but that doesn’t increase the price of scrap metal. It was a bad car when it was new, and the bad joke is only 35 years older. Honestly, Ford would probably have been better off bringing back the Mustang II and rebadging it than building the EXP. Now that’s a bold statement, but not a particularly controversial one. Even if you’re forced to bring an Escort to your best friend’s wedding, this is one that you wouldn’t pick up in a back alley for free.