1987 Ford Sierra RS 500 Cosworth
The RS500 Cosworth edition was developed for the purpose of making the Ford Sierra unbeatable on race tracks. In March 1987, Aston Martin Tickford was commissioned to convert 500 Sierra Cosworth’s for this purpose.
The Cosworth RS500 was announced in July 1987, and was homologated in August 1987.
The main difference to the Sierra three-door Cosworth was the uprated Cosworth's competition engine. Its new features were:
The Inline-four engine had a thicker walled cylinder block to cope with the rigours of the track
Bore X Stroke of 90.8 mm (3.57 in) X 77 mm (3.03 in)
Displacement of 1,993 cc (2.0 L; 121.6 cu in)
A larger Garrett AiResearch T04 turbocharger
A larger air-air intercooler
A second set of four Weber IW025 "yellow" fuel injectors and a second fuel rail (not activated in the roadgoing version)
An uprated fuel pump
A reworked induction system to allow higher power outputs to be realised
An uprated oil and cooling system
The rear semi-trailing arm beam had extended but unused mounting points
Engine output increased to 227 PS (224 hp; 167 kW) at 6000 rpm
Max. torque of 277 N⋅m (204 lb⋅ft) at 4500 rpm.
The RS500 also had minor external cosmetic differences to its parent the Sierra three-door Cosworth:
The rear tail gate had a lower spoiler in addition to the upper "whale tail", which had an added lip
Discreet RS500 badges on the rear tail gate and front wings
A redesigned front bumper and spoiler to aid cooling and air flow, including the removal of the fog lamps and their replacement with intake grilles to supplement brake cooling
Exactly 500 RS500s were produced, all of them RHD for sale in the UK only - the biggest market for this kind of Ford car. It was originally intended that all 500 would be black, but in actuality 56 white and 52 moonstone blue cars were produced.
Major series and race wins by the Ford Sierra RS500 include –
Series wins
Australian Touring Car Championship - 1988, 1989
Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft - 1988
Japanese Touring Car Championship - 1988, 1989
AMSCAR series - 1988, 1989, 1990
Nissan Mobil 500 Series - 1989, 1990
New Zealand Touring Car Championship - 1989, 1990, 1992
British Touring Car Championship - 1990
Australian Endurance Championship - 1990
Race wins
Wellington 500 – 1987
Fuji InterTEC 500 – 1987, 1988, 1989
RAC Tourist Trophy - 1988
Sandown 500 – 1988, 1990
Bathurst 1000 – 1988, 1989
Pukekohe 500 - 1988, 1989, 1990
Spa 24 Hours - 1989
Guia Race of Macau - 1989
The 454 Capital group of companies is the proud owner of an ever-expanding Automobile Collection. This car can be made available (on loan) to charity events upon application. For enquiries about the loan of our vehicles for charity events: