After years of being dormant, Ford reintroduced the RS2000 as a sporty variant for the Mk5 Escort in 1991. The RS2000 was powered by a 16-valve 2.0L inline four engine, and was available with manual or automatic transmissions. Although production of the RS2000 initially began exclusively as a front wheel drive variant, mid-way through production, a four wheel drive version was introduced that featured a range of improvements over the standard model. Production of the MK5 Ford Escort RS2000 ended in 1995 with the debut of the Mk6 Ford Escort.