When the topic of important car brands throughout history is brought up, Ford is up in the higher ranks. Though Ford didn't invent the automobile, Henry Ford did introduce the first moving assembly line to the auto world, which allowed for multiple examples of the same car to be built in a quick timeframe.
Nowadays, Ford sells their cars all over the world, but their home turf, the States, is where they are most loved. Sadly, the US missed out on some really cool Ford models throughout history. Here are some of the coolest Ford models that were only sold in other parts of the world.
10 Sierra Cosworth
Available both as a three-door (with the whale tail wing) and as a four-door (called the Sapphire), the Sierra Cosworth defined a generation of sports sedan lovers, particularly in the UK.
Thanks to the legendary Cosworth YB engine under the hood, the 204 hp Sierra was fast not only for the time but it would still be considered fast nowadays. However, due to its rarity and success in motorsport, prices have skyrocketed. The upshot is, they are now old enough to be imported. Even the later ones.
9 Racing Puma
Unfortunately, Ford recently resurrected the Puma nameplate for... a compact crossover. Ain't that a surprise (and shame)?! Back in the late 90s and early 00s, however, the Puma name was worn by this tiny, feisty, FWD sports coupe.
Any Puma model was fun to drive, but the Racing Puma was the best one. A 155 hp turbocharged engine, strengthened transmission, stiffened suspension, and an optional factory LSD. Sadly, only 500 ever reached customer hands, and only 75 of those had the LSD equipped. What's more, they're not old enough to import... at least not yet.
8 Focus RS (Mk2)
The Mk3 was the only Focus RS generation to be sold officially in the United States, and that's a real shame. Excellent though the Mk3 may be, the Mk2 had its own charm and uniqueness to it. Based on the European Ford Focus, it was only available as a sporty three-door hatchback.
It was also available in this attention-grabbing green color, and most Focus RS models that were sold to customers bear this color. The true awesomeness comes under the hood, where you're greeted by Volvo's 2.5-liter inline-5 engine. That meant 300 hp, and it also meant a fantastic exhaust note.
7 Mondeo XR5 Turbo
This is one of the many, many cool Ford models that were exclusively available in Australia. The Mondeo is one of the most beloved sedans in all of Europe, but strangely, it was never available with this powertrain outside of Australia.
It uses the same engine as the Focus RS up there, but dialed down to "only" 220 hp. The Mondeo has always been unassuming, so this would make for a fantastic sleeper vehicle. If only you could import it...
6 S-Max 2.5T
It's a real shame that the S-Max minivan was never sold in the United States. For one, it doesn't look boring - you could even argue that it actually looks good.
Amazingly, this thing was also available with the 2.5-liter turbocharged five-pot from the Focus ST and RS. That's 220 hp and an inline-5 roar... in a minivan. One with seven seats, too. When will the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna be that cool?
5 Falcon TS50
Also called just the TS50, this was the highest performance version of the AU generation Falcon sedan, exclusively available in Australia. The "T" in the name comes from Tickford Vehicle Engineering, Ford Australia's performance arm that eventually morphed into FPV.
The TS50 had a 300 hp 5.0-liter V8 engine under the hood, but unfortunately, it was auto only. It also has the unique distinction of being the only Australian Ford vehicle to be featured in a Need for Speed game. Specifically, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit 2.
4 XB Falcon GT
Whereas the States had the Mustang, Australia had the Falcon. Thanks to the Mad Max series of movies, the XB Falcon began to receive mainstream attention, and with good reason.
A 351 V8 under the hood, and a big, sleek, muscle car body - it was the perfect muscle car recipe, and it did fantastically well in Australia. What's more, they're now old enough to be imported. We're still struggling to understand why more of them haven't been imported yet.
3 FPV Pursuit Ute
Pretty much any ute can be classified as something the United States missed out on, but the FPV Pursuit Ute is often considered to be fast ute royalty in Australia.
The generation pictured used a 4.0-liter inline-6 engine with a whopping 416 hp. That's a lot in general, but it's really a lot for what is basically a car-based pickup truck. Though these can't be imported, there is a company in the United States that will do a full conversion of a similar car.
2 Mondeo ST220
Based on the third generation Mondeo, the ST220 came along when more affordable sports sedans were becoming popular, and competed with stuff like the Mazda Mazdaspeed 6 (MPS in Europe) and the Opel Vectra OPC (Vauxhall Vectra VXR).
Under the hood was a 3.0-liter Duratec V6 engine with, as the name implies, 220 hp. It might not sound all that powerful, but this Mondeo handled the power very well. It was also available as a wagon, and they can be found for extremely low prices in Europe nowadays.
1 Escort RS Cosworth
When it comes to Ford of Europe's best cars, pretty much everyone will agree that this is one of - if not the - very best. With a Cosworth YB, a giant turbocharger, AWD, and one of the coolest wings ever attached to a production car, the Escort Cossie had it all.
They are now old enough to be imported, and people have started bringing them in recently. That's a good thing because the rally-winning, hugely popular, and fast Escort Cosworth deserves its place in history as one of the greatest performance cars Ford has ever made.
These are just some of the many Ford models that the United States missed out on. Some of them aren't quite old enough to import yet, but they still remain some of the coolest cars in the brand's history. One day in the future, assuming gasoline is still allowed on the road, maybe US-based enthusiasts will be able to get a taste of some of these great cars.