2001 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 – Auction Car of the Week

We recently waxed lyrical about the virtues of the classic replica. Whether it be an homage to the AC Cobra or a carbon copy of a Lotus Cortina the potential to have just as much fun, if not more, than if you were to own the real thing is a valid and interesting debate and one that we’re sure rages regularly at car meets and on Internet forums the world over. With that in mind then, when this Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 popped up for sale on our auctions platform we just had to feature it. It may not be an actual BTCC car piloted by the likes of Tim Harvey back in the late ’80s and early ’90s but this is as close as you’re going to get. Not only that but this particular RS500 is fresh from a full rebuild too so it could be argued that it’s even better. We’ll let you duke that one out though, we’re just going to make you drool over this track-prepped and race ready RS500, complete with its period correct Labatt’s livery.

That’s not to say that this car doesn’t have a racing pedigree though. The owner informs us that prior to the rebuild it was raced in the Formula Saloon Championship by Gary Woodcock so it has cut its rather sharp and pointy teeth at the track. And that was always the appeal of the RS500. Homologated so that Ford could remain competitive with a car that was already at the top of the pile it’s that motorsport legacy that made it so popular, not to mention the 224 brake horsepower on tap, available in the 500 road-going versions that were produced. The turbocharged Cosworth YB engine that was fitted to the Sierra Cosworth was also hugely tune-able and power figures could be boosted way beyond factory figures, further increasing the car’s appeal.

We’ve already covered the RS500 in our The Homologators series so we won’t go over it again but suffice to say  you can read all about it for yourselves here before bidding on this track version. Trust us, it’ll be an easy decision, and when we say track version, we mean track version. This is a race car in every respect and has never been registered for the road. But then, having driven it around a proper racing circuit we doubt you would ever want to drive it on something as boring and laborious as the A1 at a truly lethargic and restricting 70mph. Yawn. With this car you’ll be hankering after the next challenge, the next track day or hill climb – providing you have the skill to master its frankly staggering 560bhp.

Built using a genuine Ford Motorsport 909 body shell in 2001 the car was completely rebuilt between 2018 and 2019 and has seen little use since. With many new and uprated parts and an engine built by renowned Cosworth specialist Harvey Gibbs this Sierra Cosworth RS500 is not for the faint of heart, nor is it a car to be mothballed or put on display as a museum piece. It’s a car to be raced. Roll cage? Check. Towing eyes and battery isolator? Check. Fixed bucket seat and harness? Check. Highly specified and tuned engine? Check. One look at the huge list of specs on the auction listing and you know this Sierra means business and if you grew up in the ’80s and ’90s like us then the Labatt’s Touring Car livery is the icing on this particularly fruity cake.

This Sierra Cosworth RS500 is in exceptional condition throughout thanks to that recent rebuild and is yet to carry the scars of the track so it represents a wonderful opportunity for someone to own a fresh, well-sorted race car that evokes a beautiful nostalgia, harking back to one of the greatest eras of motorsport. For us at least those ’90s Touring Car races will forever be etched into our grey matter and are up there with the likes of Group B rallying and Ayrton Senna’s time dominating Formula One. The thought of trading paint at the wheel of this monster gives us all the feels. Buy it, take it racing and be a better driver.