Tuesday 22nd November 2016

Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth: Spotted

Holy Grail of RS500s pops up for sale on PH - but is it really worth £200K?

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Logic dictates a secondhand car/house/boat or even jet is only worth what somebody else is willing to pay for it. If someone is happy to shell out £200,000 for a whaletail Sierra then that's what it's worth, no arguments.

That's shocking, right? Only it shouldn't be.

In the US, the average price of one of the 34 1965 Mustang 350Rs is $800,000, with the best cars making almost a million. So why can't the closest thing we have to a Pony car be equally valuable? After all, just 500 RS500s were made - that's half the number of 1973 911 Carrera 2.7 RSs and, like the Porsche, the road car's reputation is built on the solid foundation of phenomenal success in motorsport.

Even today this is a special, special car, the homologation provenance of the 500 road cars only adding further to the values.

In its time, its performance was outrageous, boasting 20hp more than the already fearsome Cossie, the RS500 produced a towering 227hp from its blown 2.0-litre Pinto, the added power coming from a larger (read laggier) Garrett T4 turbocharger. Ford also added a larger intercooler and doubled the injector count from four to eight. Visually, of course, there's the ultra-cool extra air intake above the bumper and the extra tip on the rear spoiler - it was a car spotter's delight.

And those trademark aero bits worked too, that whaletail delivering almost 100kg of downforce at 100mph and a vital part of the performance that took Steve Soper, Andy Rouse and Tim Harvey to all their wins. Out of the 500 cars, just four were used to develop the faster RS500 and herein lies the confusion over our £200,000 Cosworth.

Chassis #001 now lives in Norway and its owner, perhaps, isn't quite as clued up as the rabid fanbase that surrounds these cars. Instead of being built in-house by Ford as claimed in the description, #001 was actually built with the rest of its siblings by Tickford. During the development one of the four cars was involved in a very bad accident but didn't need re-shelling. Instead, it was repaired by a local dealer under the shroud of secrecy. The re-shelling of #001 must have happened later and is either a big deal or not quite the hoo-ha you'd imagine, depending on who you speak to.

Ford RS Owners Registrar, Paul Linfoot, says a new chassis isn't the end of the world as it is, in his words, a "serviceable part". But for top money the RS500 must be HPI clear and been repaired using a correct period shell, stamped with matching numbers by the repairing Ford dealer. And there's a caveat. The shells sold as parts after the limited 500-unit run of RS500s are different to the ones fitted to production cars. The tow hook was relocated and, the bit that really grates purists, the later shells have a rear bulkhead off the Sapphire. In any case seek advice and pay for an inspection.

Linfoot advises buyers to also ask for real pictures of the car in question, to judge the quality restoration. The images you see are library images, so make sure you see before you buy. Finally, development cars were driven fast and very hard by Ford engineers and have something described by RS500 fans, charitably, as a 'unique patina' that some owners love and others just can't live with.

Legend has it, the hand cut spoilers were a little rough and ready but, again, that may add charm. As far as money goes, it might alarm you to know chassis #001, isn't the most valuable RS500 Cosworth around.

Far from it.

If you own an RS500 and it just happens to be car number 500 of 500. You might want to take a seat because there are collectors out there searching for your car. One of whom, PH spoke to, will happily pay you £250,000 to take it off your hands...

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FORD SIERRA RS500 COSWORTH
Engine: 1,993cc, 4-cyl turbocharged
Transmission: 5-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 227@6,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 204@4,500rpm
MPG: 25
CO2: N/A
First registered: 1987
Recorded mileage: 42,000 miles
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £200,000

See the original advert here

[Lead]

April 1st already!

[anonymous-user]

Still love these cars.

Normally you would say £200,000 is completely stupid but the way prices are going I am not surprised.

Complex history which obviously needs looking into but it could add to the cars appeal if everything is sound.

For someone wanting number 500 and looking to pay £250,000 perhaps this car has a profit in it already.

[AndySheff]

A neighbour of mine had one of these back in the day. I used to drool as I walked past it.
But 200k ? No way.

[bloomen]

So 10-15 years of the average salary after tax to buy... that?

[MarshPhantom]

No, it isn't really worth £200k.

Is any car?

[Toyoda]

First reply nails it.

[dunnoreally]

I guess it's kinda like certain watches at this point. Whoever buys the car will know full well that they'll be able to sell the thing for just as much as they paid for it, so in the long run all it'll set them back is the maintenance. The price is perhaps more of a deposit, really.

Saying that, there's still plenty of other things I'd rather do with that kind of money if I had it kicking around.

[MarshPhantom]

And I've never understood the appeal of old Fords.

[stevesingo]

Who writes this? The engine may be Pinto based, but it is certainly not a Pinto.

[willisit]

A few were auctioned at the NEC recently - they're making £20k or so... someone adding too many 0s?

[Darran-95030]

I never wanted one at 10k and i certainly don't want one now

[Braintax]

Really don't like the sound of the crash this one was involved in..

Here's one for (potentially, but probably not) £60k that's supposedly covered 12k - https://revmatch.me/2016/11/18/sierra-cosworth-rs5...

[OverSteery]

"The tow hook was relocated "


Well I never knew that. I can't help wondering if I will ever:
- talk to someone who might be interested
- whether it will come up in conversation

I suspect I will take that nugget to my grave, but unless I lose all my marbles, I know I will probably still remember it then.
Where's that thread on the quiz questions?

[J4CKO]

willisit said:

A few were auctioned at the NEC recently - they're making £20k or so... someone adding too many 0s?

500's or regular Cosworths ?

If a "special" old 911 can sell for silly money, why not a Ford ?

Seems like a hell of a lot of money for an old Sierra but it was a hell of an Icon, the RS faithful are very loyal and a few are very wealthy and I imagine that though 500 were built, that isnt many to go around and a lot got binned, burnt, stolen etc, cant be that many left.

Normally I am very sceptical but I still get the frisson of excitement when I see one like I did in 1987.

[cuda]

Is the rear side window the same as the fronts, just back to front?

[scoobygaz1]

My mate's mum had the rs then got the rs 500 when new. Still remember her trying po park it 😔

[Evolved]

oh how big can you blow that bubble?

200k of the queens finest for a bloody Sierra!

[Freds]

For Sale . https://www.facebook.com/john.pogson.792?hc_ref=NE...

[willisit]

J4CKO said:

500's or regular Cosworths ?

If a "special" old 911 can sell for silly money, why not a Ford ?

Seems like a hell of a lot of money for an old Sierra but it was a hell of an Icon, the RS faithful are very loyal and a few are very wealthy and I imagine that though 500 were built, that isnt many to go around and a lot got binned, burnt, stolen etc, cant be that many left.

Normally I am very sceptical but I still get the frisson of excitement when I see one like I did in 1987.

Oh, regular. I know what you mean; a 993 911 Turbo S was going for £260k there, and a regular S for £90k. But then, I think those are a bit mad too (prices I mean). Each to their own if someone is willing to shell out.

[The Hypno-Toad]

That's a lovely car but the asking price at that mileage is nuts.