A sensation at last weekend’s British Silverstone auction: a wealthy buyer paid 590,500 pounds (673,190 euros) for a Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500. “The result of an out-of-hand bid between an interested party from Dubai and one from the United Kingdom,” Silverstone Auctions said. The highest ever paid for a similar model was £132,750 (€151,324) from last year.
A forensic fanatic
The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth owes its existence to racing. To enter the Sierra in the Touring Car Championship, Ford had to build and sell at least 5,000 homologated models in 1985. However, starting in July 1986, the brand managed to sell 5,545 units of the Sierra RS Cosworth with the 2.0 four-cylinder 204 hp. Of these, 500 units were converted into the ‘Evolution Special’, with modifications to further exploit the racing potential. A year later, in July 1987, Ford introduced and sold the 225 hp Cosworth RS500.
According to Silverstone Auctions, this particular example is one of the best RS500s left. The previous owner bought the Ford fourteen years ago and reportedly took care of it “forensically obsessively.” For example, he insisted on finding and using original oil filters from the 1980s, and he had a collection of unused rims and tires that didn’t need to support the Ford’s weight. This RS500 received an extensive service last year, and now it will be the most expensive Sierra RS in history to land at the Cosworth auction.
