Description
H&H Classic Auction @ The Imperial War Museum, Duxford/ Cambridgeshire
9th October, 2024 13:00
1988 Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth
Recently recommissioned after 25 years of dry storage
Estimate
£23, 000 - £27, 000
Registration No: E60 JJM
Chassis No: WF0FXXGBBFJA79037
MOT: September 2025
Recently emerged from over 25 years in dry storage and recommissioned ready for use
A notably tidy example only showing 76, 258 recorded miles from new
Specified with a full leather interior when new
Early rear-wheel drive version (lighter than the later 4x4 version)
The sight of rival manufacturers reaping the rewards of successful circuit racing programmes prompted Ford to renew its alliance with engine builder Cosworth to create the eponymous Sierra. Assembly of the minimum 5, 000 required for Group A homologation commenced in June 1986 at the company's Genk plant in Belgium. Based on the three-door Sierra bodyshell, the RS Cosworth combined the standard 1, 993cc Pinto engine's cylinder block with a forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods, the first time this combination had been seen in a production Ford engine. Topping it off was a Cosworth-developed, twin-camshaft, 16-valve cylinder head fed by a Garrett AiResearch turbocharger, the latter being deemed necessary to achieve a competitive power output for racing, which in time would amount to over 500bhp! Even in standard road trim, the Sierra RS Cosworth produced a staggering 204bhp, its Weber-Marelli engine management system ensuring that the resulting stupendous performance was delivered with minimal turbo lag. Needless to say, the standard Sierra underpinnings were comprehensively uprated to cope. In 1987 the hatchback version ceased production and was replaced by the more refined Sapphire RS Cosworth four-door saloon, which was built for the years 1988 and 1989, some 13, 000 being completed.
More information to follow.
