1990 Ford Sierra Sapphire Thunder Saloon

The Thundersaloon championship was beloved by true tin-top petrolheads, offering visually brutal and powerful cars with monstrous exhaust notes. These vehicles were highly modified, allowing teams to be imaginative in achieving high performance while loosely resembling their production car counterparts. With few restrictions in the rules, the races were filled with exciting and wild concoctions, providing a brilliant spectacle for fans. As a result, the series became popular among amateur racing enthusiasts and privateer teams.

The 1990 Ford Sierra Sapphire Thundersaloon being offered here is a surviving monster with a proven track record in sprint and endurance racing. Originally built in 1992/3 by Ford dealer Dave Thomas of Ashington Autos, the car cost around £80,000 to build at the time but with no invoices on file this cannot be substantiated. It was designed for endurance racing and successfully competed in various events, including the Spa 6-hour race, ultimately winning the Class A Thunder Saloon Championship in 2003.

Our vendor acquired the car in late-2003 as the Championship winning car, subsequently using it to race and compete for over 20 years with significant success in different championships including finishing 2nd in the 2007 Classic Thunder Championship, with many top ten finishes over the years. The car remains eligible for a variety of race series, including Classic Thunder, Special Saloons, Boss Ford, Modified Fords, Northern Saloons, and others.

Visually stunning and uniquely designed, the wide-bodied Sapphire features a two-door conversion with lightweight custom panels. In 2019, the car underwent a thorough cosmetic and mechanical refurbishment, including new inner and outer sills, floor pans, crossmembers, seat supports, and a full repaint with striking tiger-stripe graphics.

As with most competition cars, the build specification is long and detailed and runs to several pages but it is, naturally, very important. Consequently our consignor has compiled a detailed list and will email it to genuinely interested parties. Basically the car is powered by a full-house YBT Cosworth engine rebuilt by racing engine specialist Geoff Page Racing in 2019. The engine features various enhancements, listed in detail on file, resulting in an approximate power output north of 500bhp. The gearbox is a Getrag 265/5 dog-leg and the running gear and setup are equally customized, offering exceptional handling and performance with retardation the responsibility of AP Racing brakes all around.

Inside, the car features a GP Race Pro seat with custom brackets, new TRS HANS-compatible harnesses, a welded-in cage and a plumbed-in 4kg extinguisher system with alloy pipes and six extinguisher heads.

The car comes with five ring-binders worth of history, documenting its journey and technical details, as well as two magazine features. Additionally, the sale includes a spare exhaust silencer, plastic crates of spares, four wheels/ tyres, and body moulds.

With the opportunity to compete in various series across the country, this Thundersaloon is sure to impress and will continue to run at the front in the right hands. It's attractively priced, a fraction of its original build cost, and we welcome your interest.