Description
This is lot number 245 in the Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed sale on July 12th, please see the Bonhams website for full details.
• Believed to be the most original surviving Group A Sierra RS Cosworth
• In-period World Rally Championship history
• Regularly invited to Goodwood and the Eiffel Rally
• Easily driven on the road. One of the most iconic cars of the 1980's
"The Sierra Cosworth was a superb car at European Championship and National Championship level... there were nine European Rally Championship victories in 1987, nine more in 1988 and a further eight in 1989..." - Graham Robson, A-Z of Works Rally Cars.
Believed to be the most original ex-works Sierra RS Cosworth Group A rally car still surviving, 'D705 SVW' was driven as a factory entry in the World Rally Championship by the legendary Swedish driver Stig Blomqvist and subsequently as a works-backed car by Dutch rallying star Erwin Doctor. Blomqvist had made his international debut with SAAB in 1971, going on to join Audi in 1982 and winning his one-and-only World Rally Championship for the German manufacturer in 1984. In 1986 he drove for Peugeot and Ford, continuing with the latter when Group A regulations were adopted for 1987 and finishing on the podium on three occasions over the next two years. With navigator Benny Melander, Blomqvist drove 'D705 SVW' on the WRC Rallye de Portugal and Italian national Rally 1000 Miglia in 1988, finishing 5th in the former and 2nd in the latter. In 1989 'D705 SVW' was driven by Erwin Doctor on rallies in Holland, Belgium and Germany, securing two overall wins, one 2nd and two 3rd places (see results sheets printouts on file).
Built at Boreham and first registered on 25th November 1986, 'D705 SVW' remains outstandingly original, retaining its countless special factory parts and even its works-specification alloy/ steel roll cage, unlike the many re-shelled examples rebuilt with steel cages. All the stickers on the windows are original, testifying to the fact that the glass has never been out, and there is a 1990 tax disc in the windscreen. The Luisi steering wheel is engraved 'Stig Blomqvist'. Regularly invited to Goodwood and the Eiffel Rally, 'D705 SVW' is eminently usable on rally stages and can easily be driven on the road, being UK road registered. Unlike rally cars of the 1990s and 2000s which require a supporting team of engineers to run properly, this example could be driven to the local shops if you so wished, or a whole host of ever-expanding shows and events across the UK and Europe. Appreciation for the RS Cosworth is ever growing, this unique example is supplied with a set of spare wheels, an ECU and a light pod (as per Italy 1988). Accompanying documentation consists of a UK V5C Registration Certificate, and the aforementioned printouts of results sheets.
