FORD

Sierra RS Cosworth

The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth was created to turn Ford's aerodynamic but ordinary Sierra family car into a world-beating Group A racer, and it became one of the most revered performance Fords of all time. Launched in 1986 and built at Ford's Genk factory in Belgium, the original three-door Ford Sierra RS Cosworth paired a turbocharged 2.0-litre Cosworth YBB twin-cam engine producing around 204 horsepower with a huge "whale-tail" rear wing, making it instantly recognisable on road and track. To homologate the car for racing Ford built 5,545 of the three-door version, of which 500 were sent to Tickford to be transformed into the even more extreme Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth, fitted with a bigger turbo, extra injectors and revised aerodynamics. Homologated on 1 August 1987, the RS500 went on to become statistically the most successful touring car of all time, winning an astonishing share of every race it entered and dominating Group A championships around the world. The range then evolved into more practical forms: the four-door Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth arrived in 1988, and from early 1990 the formidable Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth 4x4 added permanent four-wheel drive, becoming a rally and road weapon in equal measure. Known affectionately to enthusiasts simply as the "Cossie," the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth combined blue-collar looks with genuine supercar-baiting pace. Today the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, and especially the rare RS500, is a blue-chip modern classic whose values have soared as a new generation rediscovers this turbocharged icon.