The Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth was the 80s BTCC homologation hero that also became the affordable super car.  

In this episode Jonny visits Rupe, an owner with probably the perfect pair of examples; an unrestored 34,000 mile RS500 and Group A touring car. The latter has been raced both in the winning hands of Andy Rouse and Peter Brock. 

In the summer of 1986 the Sierra Cosworth went on sale to the public as a homologation car. They needed to sell 5000 in order to go racing and beat Rover and BMW in British Touring Car. A year later they increased the intensity of the Cosworth recipe and created a homologation ‘evolution’ which became the RS500. As reflected in the name, only 500 of these needed selling in order to trounce the opposition on the race tracks of Britain and Australia.

The Group A race Sierra was built in 1988 by Andy Rouse Engineering and was actually Andy’s car for the 1988 BTCC. Ran as number 22 in Kaliber livery (number 33 in the endurance races). Of the 12 rounds run that year the car scored 10 pole positions, 7 fastest laps and 9 outright wins. Statistically it’s the most successful RS500 that Andy built or ran. The car, driven by Andy partnered by Le Mans ace, Frenchman Alain Ferté won the 1988 Silverstone TT against the ‘best of the best’ Sierras from round the world – The Ford works Eggenberger team from Switzerland and the Dick Johnson Racing Shell team from Australia. Sold to the Brock Racing Team for the 1989 season and driven by Australian touring car legend Peter Brock in the Mobil livery.

The car competed twice at Bathurst and finished strongly both times. Brocky last drove the car at the Adelaide GP support race in 1990 where he blew it up. 2 litre DOHC 16v with a Garrett T04 turbocharger and air-to-air intercooler Getrag 5-speed dog-leg motorsport gearbox Eggenberger spec bulletproof differential One piece light weight magnesium motorsport wheels.

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