In 1983, Ford Motorsport Europe had appointed a new head, Stuart Turner. He realised that Ford were becoming less competitive in Motorsport and, after some discussion with Public Relations, Ford approached their long time partner Cosworth. Based on the Pinto engine, Cosworth had developed a 16-valve version which would prove to be perfect once the turbocharger was bolted to it, pushing the power to 180bhp in road form and 300bhp in race trim, a huge improvement over the old Pinto engine.
The perfect car to trial this new engine in was the aerodynamically sound Sierra, which coincidently used a Pinto, so they knew the 16-valve Cosworth unit would fit. Firstly, the 3-door Cosworth came along followed by the limited edition model, with just 500 made. These were more in the style of a race engine with a bigger turbo, intercooler and uprated fuel pump plus other parts to make it the RS500.
Proving popular, the Sierra Sapphire was the next to receive the Cosworth lump, producing the 2-wheel drive Sapphire Cosworth which made it even more appealing. Ford sold 13,140 units. The car's popularity also grew with the wrong kind of people, and they became the car of choice for joyriders in the 1990’s. With police cars at the time unable to catch the high flying Cosworths, more and more were unfortunately stolen. The final release of the Sapphire Cosworth was the 4x4, like the one we have here today, which was produced from 1990 to 1992. Permanent 4-wheel drive made it more popular in the handling stakes and they were quite often found in the hands of amateur rally drivers. kkYwXvJdJOGP6CJ8hLusM7dUU2S38sYggjT9Vuod.jpeg639.27 KB
The History
The owner of this stunning 1994 Ford Sierra Cosworth 4x4, purchased it in December 2018, but left registering it until the 17th January 2019 after the christmas post. Already a huge Cosworth fan, (he does have another one), he saw this one for sale and knew it was too good an opportunity to miss out on an unmodified Cosworth.
With the car purchased and back home, as it was winter, the car stood in the garage for a few months until the drier weather made an appearance. This is when the seller used the car for the one and only outing he has made in it, which was to the popular Ford Fair show. Since then the car has been covered up and unused in his storage unit.
With more work and less play, along with the space in the unit needed, the seller has reluctantly made the decision to part with the Cosworth to free up the space. To get the car ready for sale and to make sure it's in the right condition for the new owner, a full service, including timing belt change and new hydraulic lifters has been carried out, all coming in at just over £1,000.
The V5 is present and shows the Cosworth has had 5 previous keepers. There is currently no MOT on the car, this expired on the 17th January 2019. The seller has stated that he will be putting 12 months MOT on the car by the time the auction ends, ready for the new custodian of the Cosworth.
The service history for the car is absolutely mind blowing! Everything has been saved from invoices, MOT’s, tax discs and trophies from shows won by a previous owner, the list goes on. Basically, its life story is held in the history file.
The owner’s handbook is present along with the service book and radio manual. The Sierra also benefits from a Scorpion alarm system which operates the central locking, and this comes with 2 key fobs, along with 2 keys.
The inside of the Sapphire Cosworth is in lovely condition. The Black leather Recaro front seats for the Sierra are in excellent condition with no obvious bolster wear to either of the front Recaros. Sitting in the driver's seat takes you straight back to the 1990’s, and it's definitely a good place to be!
The instruments are all working as they should with the odometer reading just 76,703 miles. Quite often found in Sierra’s is a cracking dash, but we are pleased to say this is in excellent condition all over. To the centre console, the heater controls and switches are all working as they should, with no wear to the lettering. The genuine radio is in place but this is asking for the code, (it may be in the owner's manual or your local Ford dealer would be able to assist you in getting the code). The electric windows, sunroof and central locking are all in good working order.
The door cards are all in excellent order with no scuffs to be seen. The same can be said for the back seat which looks like it’s never been used, and also the headlining which is brilliant. The carpets throughout the passenger area and also the boot are in excellent condition, with mats in place for each of the passengers. The boot retains the spare wheel, which is in good condition. The boot floor under the carpet is exceptionally clean.
Finished in Smokestone with a recent detail and ceramic coating we think you’ll agree the Sierra looks nothing short of incredible! A true iconic car from the 1990’s in an excellent and unmolested condition.
Starting at the front, and the bumper is in excellent condition, with no obvious stone chips to point out. The fog lights are free from any chips. The headlights have some genuine headlamp protectors fitted which have done their job perfectly. The bonnet aligns nice and straight with the grille and wing edges. If you look closely, it does look to have had the bumper and bonnet repainted at some point, but it has to be said that this looks to have been a quality job and is quite difficult to spot.
Around to the sides of the Sapphire, these look to be as straight as a die with no little dinks or dents that we could see. The doors align straight with a uniform gap around them. The window trims are in black rubber, and again, these are excellent with no kinks or perrishing to them. The windows are generally in good condition, with just some age related scratches.
On to the rear and again, like the rest of the car, this is in excellent condition. The badges are in good order and the smoked Sapphire lights are free from any cracks. Still in place is the original dealer number plate.
The wheels are the original Sharktooth, which have no obvious areas of corrosion on the faces to mention, and are extremely well presented. The tyres are all matching Dunlop SP Sport with plenty of tread remaining.
The engine in the Cosworth is the original 2.0 litre turbocharged green top engine, in standard form, (the green top was fitted to the later Cosworths and is fitted with a catalytic converter). This produces 217 bhp and 214 lb-ft of torque and is highly tunable should you wish.
The car starts up perfectly at the first turn of the key. It sounds as it should with no unwanted noises coming from the 2.0 litre powerhouse. On the transmission side of things the car is permanent 4-wheel drive with a manual 5-speed gearbox. This is reported to all be in good order, with the Cosworth pulling as it should through the gears and the change is smooth and precise. The suspension dampers have been replaced with adjustable ones.
Bringing the car to a halt nice and straight are the 283mm front discs and 273mm rears, all of which have no lips to the edges. The rears have just had a new set of pads. The seller has just had some work carried out on the car by Sierra’s ‘R’Us Cosworth specialists, to prepare it for its new home which has included spark plugs, cam belt kit, 16 hydraulic tappets, cam cover gasket, phase sensor, distributor cap, fuel filter and oil change.
Anyone growing up as a young 17 year old driver in the 1990’s would have probably given their right arm to own a Cossie. But sadly due the fashion of criminals twoc, (taking without owner's consent), insurance premiums for anything RS, XR or GTI rocketed, making them impossible to insure unless you owned a vault guarded by the Army to keep it in.
It's also quite rare to find a Cossie that has not had a bigger dump valve or large exhaust fitted. This one is one of those rare finds. In excellent condition throughout from the paintwork to the unmarked Recaro seats, this really is a 90’s classic to watch
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