A closer look at some of Silverstone Auction's Fast Fords

For Ford marque enthusiasts the next Silverstone Auction on May 28th at Sywell Aerodrome is going to be a feast, given the choice offering of no fewer than three fast Fords.

Sierra RS Cosworth

The first is one of the famous 'SVW'-registered RS Cosworth Ford 'Press Cars' with less than 19,000 miles.

At its introduction in 1982, the Sierra's revolutionary new shape proved a touch more divisive than Ford had anticipated and some serious marketing became a priority, so it was the obvious choice to become the platform for Ford's new competition aspirations in conjunction with Cosworth. It fitted the brief well as it was rear-wheel drive, had good aerodynamics, albeit being prone to lift at high speeds and was available as a three-door. The new body kit and rear spoiler would sort out the lift issues but, more importantly, Ford still needed to build 5,000 units for homologation, somewhat worrying when the company's initial approach to the dealer network came back with an estimate that suggested they could sell around 1,500 units! The eventual sales record is, of course, history. Ford went on to sell 5,545 three-door cars including the RS500, of which only 500 were built, and the Cosworth engine also found its way into nearly 30,000 Ford Sierra Saloons (Cosworth 3dr, Sapphire 2wd, and 4wd).

We are proud to offer another of the famous ‘SVW’- registered Sierra RS Cosworths used by Ford as ‘Press Cars’ and widely photographed and featured at the time of the cars launch. It has covered just 18,787 miles, corroborated by older MOTs and service stamps in the Dealer Service Record and remains in truly remarkable original condition. It’s finished in Ford Motorsport Diamond White and the Dealer Certificate shows that it was originally registered to the Ford Motor Co. of Brentwood by RS Dealer, Gates Ford of Essex.

The car is accompanied by a comprehensive history file which contains a concise owner timeline showing that it was sold to its first private owner who kept it until March 1994 and the file also contains a copy of the advert he placed when it was time to sell the car. The second private owner (effectively it’s third keeper) changed the registration to D151 ENV and kept the RS until 2016 at which point it was purchased by our vendor who changed the registration back to its original recognisable Ford registration D436 SVW and the car has been cosseted and cared for in his private collection ever since.

Pleasingly correct and immaculately presented, this four-owner RS Cosworth comes with all the correct documentation, an impressive history file and the kudos of its FoMoCo heritage. Here at Silverstone Auctions we are privileged to have been asked to sell a number of these special cars and feel that given this car’s history, low mileage and fabulous condition, D436 SVW is very sensibly guided.

2010 Ford Focus RS500

Number 002 of 500, this is a superbly presented 2010 Ford Focus RS500; of one of the fastest, most capable, front-wheel drive cars ever produced.

The Ford Focus RS500 made its global debut at the Leipzig Motor Show on April 9th, 2010 and marked the final swansong for production of the remarkable, second generation, Focus RS. The new and more powerful, limited-edition Focus RS500 model was launched as the ultimate performance Ford to provide the definitive driving experience for serious performance car enthusiasts. The new model was given the RS500 designation to highlight its strictly limited production run of 500 individually-numbered vehicles and featured a muscular 345bhp, 2.5-litre, 5-cylinder engine, which generated 15% more power than the standard Focus RS and delivered truly exhilarating performance.

In the raw, the RS looked a bit of a 'beastie' with its gaping grille, 19-inch wheels, flared arches, deep diffuser, and a wing that would embarrass a Porsche Turbo, and left you in no doubt about its intentions, however, the limited-edition RS500 is even more dramatic, sporting a unique matt black 'foil' paint finish with matching alloy wheels and delivering a powerful visual impact unmatched by any other production Ford. The last of these remarkable vehicles left Ford's Assembly Plant in Germany during September 2010.

Offered here is Number ‘002’ of the 500 built and was first registered in the UK on the 20th July 2010. It's a UK-supplied, right-hand drive car that had covered just 17,230 miles at the time of cataloguing. Our vendor is the car's second owner, having purchased it in July 2014, and we understand from him that the RS from brand new went straight to Mountune where some performance parts were fitted including their Sports Exhaust, brake caliper/disc kits and inlet plenum etc. These parts are still fitted to the Focus but the car's first owner wisely kept all the original parts and they have remained with the car and could be refitted if required as they are included in the sale.

There is comprehensive service history with the car which is documented in the accompanying history file. The last visit to the Ford main dealer was in October 2021 and the RS500 has a current MOT valid until the 14th October 2022. Pleasingly, the vendor has generously included the very appropriate registration ‘R5 SOO’ in the sale of the vehicle.

Supplied with a UK V5c, two sets of keys, the appropriate private registration plate, original parts along with the aforementioned history file containing details of its comprehensive service history, this car presents a special opportunity to own a rare RS model that joins a long line of iconic RS Fords. Past Lot 452

Sierra Cosworth RS500

Introduced in 1987 and designed to homologate the RS500 for competition use, the road-going Sierra Cosworth RS500 was not only striking in its design, thanks to its angular front end, gargantuan ‘whale tail’ rear wing and aggressive body kit, but also had plenty of performance to back up its striking looks, thanks to the 2.0-litre, turbocharged inline-four engine mounted in the front.

Cosworth and Ford have a long history of success in the motorsport world, stretching back to the late 1950s when tuned Ford Anglia engines were utilised in Formula Junior vehicles, with great success. Fast forward a few years, and the now-legendary Cosworth DFV engines blasted eardrums and stirred the hearts of Formula One enthusiasts across the world, with many enthusiasts still rating the DFV as one of the greatest-sounding and most-evocative engines to ever be fitted to a Formula One vehicle.

Regarding the competition-specification RS500, it saw great success in Group A, DTM, the Bathurst 1000, BTCC, Spa 24 Hours and other legendary races, firmly cementing its position in motorsport folklore and the hearts of enthusiasts across the world.

Of course, the main selling point of the RS500 - other than the prospect of owning a genuine homologation special - was the upgraded engine, featuring thicker cylinder walls, a larger Garrett T04 turbocharger, enlarged air-to-air intercooler, so-called ‘yellow top’ fuel injectors, upgraded fuel supply system, and a reworked cooling system to cope with competition use. All RS500s were also equipped with a second fuel rail, though this remained inactive on road-going cars from the factory.

Naturally, this improved engine architecture and support systems boosted the RS500s road-going abilities, with the new figures sitting at 224bhp with 204 lb-ft of torque on offer at its peak. Whilst that may not sound much in today’s figures, that was enough to propel the RS500 on to a top speed of 153mph, and allow it to smash the 0-60 sprint in just 6.2 seconds!

Cosmetically, the RS500 benefitted from only subtle tweaks over the standard Sierra RS Cosworth, including a secondary lower spoiler below the iconic ‘whale tail’, numerous RS500 badges and a redesigned front bumper to aid airflow, including the removal of the fog lights and improved ducting to direct cool air towards the brakes.

With an emphasis on competition and track use, only 500 of these iconic hot hatches were built, all of which were right-hand-drive and sold in the UK market only, with the vast majority presented in black-over-grey, which was also the specification used for the launch photographs and press packages, though 56 white and 52 Moonstone Blue cars were also produced.

James Clover of Silverstone Auctions, comments: “Of course, enthusiasts, aftermarket tuners and even major racing teams - such as Wolf Racing - wanted in on the action on the continent, and whilst they never received official RS500 models, a number of tuning kits were produced. Whilst these cars remain rare to this day, there’s nothing quite like the ‘real deal’ to tick the ultimate road-going RS Cosworth off your bucket list, and that’s exactly what we have here. Chassis 054/500, this particular RS500 is a lovely early example of the breed, and has been kept in excellent condition throughout its life, remaining in fantastic shape to this day.”

Purchased by the current owner as part of a quest to tick off their childhood ‘bucket list’ of cars, the RS500was once a key feature of their poster collection when they were younger, so naturally it was near the top of the purchasing order.

Unfortunately, following delivery of the vehicle, it has barely seen use due to personal circumstances, and is now regretfully offered for sale due to changing health and personal situations.

Whilst in the care of the vendor, the car has been kept on trickle charge, and - as they put it - “stared at for hours on end”.

Now, offered for sale in excellent condition, this RS500is in need of a caring, committed and enthusiastic owner that will keep it in top shape for many years to come, and doesn’t mind turning a few heads in the process whilst behind the wheel.
Past Lot 236