This was the way to go if we wanted an international rally winner: How Ford developed the Escort Cosworth

As noted in this documentary on the conception, development, and racing history of the Ford Escort Cosworth, the rally-inspired car took some convincing of the powers that be within Ford - both its British division and within the larger Ford corporate structure - before it could get off the drawing board. The very concept of an Escort-bodied, all-wheel-drive, Sierra-chassised race car sounded bonkers to executives happy enough seeing other Ford products, including the Sierra, showing the competition its taillights at the track at the time. But all that resistance melted away when the Escort Cosworth started taking wins of its own.

SOURCE: HEMMINGS