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Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500

The RS500 was announced in July 1987 for homolgomation in August 1987. As it’s name suggests only 500 vehicles were produced, all modified by Tickford. The RS500 was only available in Right Hand Drive. Three colours were available of which, 392 cars were Black, 52 White (plus 4 Ford prototypes) and 52 Moonstone Blue. The car had discrete RS500 badges on the rear tail gate and front wings and a re-designed front bumper and spoiler to aid cooling and air flow. The bonnet louvre air vents were of a different design to the standard Cosworth and the rear tailgate had a lower spoiler in additional to the upper whale tail. The RS500 was powered by a 1993cc, 16v, 4-cylinder, twin-cam, Cosworth YBD engine. With a water-cooled Garrett AiResearch T04 turbo the car was capable of accelerating to 60 in 6.2 seconds and go on to reach a staggering 154 mph.

  • Maximum power 224 bhp @ 6000 rpm
  • Maximum torque 206 lb/ft @ 4500 rpm
Ford RS200

The RS200 was a pure two seater, mid-engined, four wheel drive car designed for Group B rally competition to compete with Rover's 6R4 and Lancia's 037. The car was conceived in 1983 as a collaboration between Ford and Reliant. It turned out to be a very expensive one for Ford, who invested over 10 million pounds in producing the RS200. The vehicle shell was designed by Ghia in Italy, working closely with the Ford motorsport design team. The chassis was designed by former Formula One designer Tony Southgate. The car was constructed using a steel platform with a monocoque centre section bonded and riveted onto it. Three tubular steel subframes were bolted onto the platform forming a chassis.

Although as the name suggests 200 cars were to be produced, it is thought that far fewer (about 144) actually left the Reliant production line at Shonstone. Of the cars produced 90 were road cars, 29 rally cars and 24 were of evolution spec, and one was a special GTO version.

The road cars were de-tuned for sale to the public and trimmed by Tickford to provide increased levels of comfort. These cars featured Sparco seats in red or black, with a leather trimmed XR3i steering wheel and a full stereo system. The road car also had fitted carpets and door inserts. Left and right hand drive cars were produced. The engine was based on the RS1700T, which was still in development at the time. The 1.8 litre 16 valve DOHC engine was longitudinally mounted at the rear of the car and coupled with a hybrid TO3/4 Garrett turbo developed 250bhp. Somewhat less than the rally version, which developed 380-450bhp. Top speed was still 142mph and the 0-60 time was about 5.2 seconds. The RS200 had a list price of £50,000.

Articles from the quarterly magazine are available by clicking the following link or via the main menu. Tickford Articles