1987 Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth

The original Ford Sierra RS Cosworth was the first Ford to wear the Cosworth badge and was presented to the public at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1985. It was introduced as a means of homologating their Sierra model for 'Group A' Touring Car racing, with a requirement that 5,000 cars were built and sold. Launched for sale in July 1986, and based on the three-door Sierra bodyshell, it was designed by Ford's Special Vehicle Engineering (SVE) and was powered by a Cosworth-designed 2.0-litre turbocharged engine of now-legendary repute. At the time, the Sierra Cosworth was a new kind of performance car - a 'blue-collar hero' able to humble true sports cars - and was approachable and (almost) affordable for a family man. In total 5,545 cars were produced - of which 500 were sent to Aston Martin Tickford for conversion to the Sierra RS500 Cosworth. Once Ford had built the requisite 5,000 RS Cosworths, Group A rules allowed an upgraded 'Evolution' model to be launched which featured further developments focused on improving its racing potential, provided Ford sold 10% of the original number as road cars, hence the 500. If the RS Cosworth was an homologation special, the RS500 could rightfully wear the "Evo" hat offering serious 'street cred' and with 224bhp, upgraded brakes, modified bodywork, dramatic spoilers and the cachet of being hand-assembled - the RS500 really is the ultimate 1980s Fast Ford!

Offered here is a particularly interesting example and is one of only 52 of the 500 cars finished in Moonstone Blue. Number 463 was first registered on 12th August 1987 to Michael Fisher Ltd. based in St Johns Wood, London. The accompanying vehicle service record shows that the car was very well cared for during its early life with regular service intervals at companies such as Terry Hoyle Ltd and Graham Goode Motors.

In the early 2000s, #463 was owned by Duncan Pursell of Automotive Unlimited, who subsequently sold it to Terry Storey. Seeing a great deal of tuning potential, he decided to set about boosting the power output potential of the car and at the end of the enhancement process, it was featured in Cosworth 4 magazine who detailed the work carried out once finished and there is a copy in the accompanying history file for interested parties to read. The article shows that the body, interior and transmission remained standard as the majority of the work went into the engine. At the time of the feature, it was stated that the engine had a standard bottom end, original head with BD10 cams, modified Garrett T4 Turbo, Isky valve springs with bronze guides, a GGR dump valve, additional oil cooler, four 'grey' injectors and, when running 30psi boost, generated approximately 420bhp.

The car then went into private ownership and, some time later, was returned to Automotive Unlimited with a request to further modify the engine in the quest to achieve over 500bhp. There are numerous invoices in the accompanying history file detailing the work that went into the car during that period from companies such as Allen Ford Northampton, PJ Motorsport and others, and we encourage all interested parties to come to the auction to see the car for themselves and to study the file.

In more recent times, the RS500 has remained in private ownership for many years, with hardly any miles covered as it has formed part of a Fast Ford private collection. Indeed, the mileage was just 45,817 at the time of cataloguing.

Offered with the aforementioned history file and coming to the open market for the first time in many years, this is an exciting opportunity to acquire a low-mileage example that is finished in the rarest colour for these ever-popular cars. The vendor has also generously included the appropriate private plate ‘500 CSY’ with the car, and this rather impressive RS500 is being offered at a sensible guide price considering all of the above.