1991 Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth 4x4

The original Ford Sierra RS Cosworth was the first Ford to wear the Cosworth badge and was introduced at the 1985 Geneva Motor Show as a means of homologating the Sierra for Group A Touring Car racing. These regulations dictated that a minimum of 5,000 were built and sold and eventually. Ford complied with 5,545 finding homes. 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 turbo engine of now legendary repute. The RS Cosworth used a 204bhp 2.0-litre DOHC engine with a Garret T3 turbocharger and inter-cooler enabling it to reach 62mph in 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 150mph. In 1986, the Sierra Cosworth was a new kind of performance car - a blue-collar hero able to humble true sports cars.

In 1988 Ford launched the Sapphire Cosworth, which was a little more discreet than previous Sierra Cosworths. As the name suggests, it was based on the Sapphire saloon version of the Sierra and used the existing 1993cc Cosworth twin-cam turbo.

In January 1990, the third generation Sierra RS Cosworth was launched, this time with four wheel drive. As early as 1987, Mike Moreton and Ford Motorsport had been talking about a four wheel drive Sierra RS Cosworth that could make Ford competitive in the World Rally Championship. Ford Motorsport's desire for a 3-door "Motorsport Special" equivalent to the original Sierra RS Cosworth was not embraced. The more discreet 4-door version was considered to have a better marketing potential and it was therefore decided that the new car should be a natural development of the second generation, to be launched in conjunction with the facelift scheduled for the entire Sierra line in 1990. Launched to huge acclaim, the 4x4 RS Cosworth was superseded by the Mondeo in 1992, which brings us neatly to this immaculate example presented here.

This is a 1991 Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth 4x4 in extraordinarily original factory condition. It"s first (official) owner was the Ford Redditch dealership, but it was soon bought by its first real keeper on the 1st November 1991. This gentleman only used the car for approximately 3 years, before his circumstances changed and he was only able to enjoy it infrequently and so it was stored. His diligent ownership over the next 24 years did mean that he took the car without fail for regular servicing back to the supplying dealer. The original service book is fully stamped, with the extensive history file containing numerous invoices for maintenance and every MoT certificate (except for 2002).

In October 2015, our long-term owner sold the car to his friend and neighbour, who had known the car since new. Upon taking receipt of it, our vendor had the car fully serviced (including all belts) at Ford on the 25th September 2015, with the car showing 57,696 verifiable miles. The current mileage is just 58,072. Frankly, the car"s condition and state of preservation is more suggestive of a third of that mileage – just look at those photos! The car is supplied with its original keys and the original book pack containing all the owners" hand-books, service book and Ford literature.

This is a real opportunity to buy a special example of a Ford motoring legend. Very rarely do completely unmolested Sierra Cosworths with so few owners and confirmable history come to the market.