The Ford Escort Concept Is Ford's Classy Date To Shanghai

The Ford Escort name means very different things depending on which side of the pond you're from. For Europeans it's a classic, beloved small car with a rallying heritage that also gave birth to legends like the Escort Cosworth RS. For Americans, the Escort was kind of a shitbox.

But Ford surprised everyone by showing up to the Shanghai Auto Show with a classy, high-end Escort (I'll try to keep those jokes to a minimum here, I promise) earlier today. It's actually a pretty good-looking sedan, if one that's not terribly different from the Fusion or their other offerings.

Speaking of the Fusion, you may be wondering where this car will fit in, considering Ford also makes the Fiesta and Focus. Cars.com says this concept is built on the Focus platform but with a longer, more upright and "more formal" design just for the Chinese market. They report that since the Chinese love long and roomy sedans so much, this is more ideal for them than the Focus, which is smaller in the rear seat department.

Ford didn't say what engine this Escort rolls with, but it's safe to assume it's some EcoBoost four-cylinder engines of various sizes. No word yet on whether it will be produced, or if it does, sold outside of China.

It's not bad. Any chances Ford will let Cosworth get their hands on this one?