8:07 am, February 26, 2023
A 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth sold for nearly £600,000 at auction yesterday, setting a new world record and smashing the previous one in the process.
The specially upgraded RS500, with just 5,192 miles on the clock, went for a jaw-dropping £596,250 at the Silverstone Auctions sale.
The Ashorne-based auction house had described it as ‘Perhaps the finest example of Ford’s most desired Cosworth ever’ – and that prompted frantic bidding action, with the car going for almost four times its guide price of £150,000 to £180,000 at the Race Retro sale.
A total of 5,545 Cosworths were made, with 500 of them being converted by Aston Martin Tickford into the Sierra RS500 Cosworth.
These iconic cars had their 2.0-litre turbo engine power boosted to 224bhp, with an extra stabilisation fin added to the back.
It’s believed more than 400 of the legendary model are still in existence, with many of them now abroad, and Silverstone Auctions said this ‘superb’ one was ‘believed to be the very best example of the ultimate 1980s Fast Ford’, with another one in such a fine condition ‘unlikely to be found again’.
Inside the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 that sold for a new world record price
The previous record price for a Sierra Cosworth was £132,750, which was paid last year at Silverstone for a model that had done 9,000 miles.
Yesterday’s Cosworth seller was said by Silverstone Auctions to be ‘a knowledgeable and particularly fastidious enthusiast’.
Over the years, the car had been regularly serviced and maintained by Southampton-based classic Ford specialist Tremona Garage, and Silverstone said in the lot description: ‘The attention to the detail of this car’s maintenance cannot be understated.’
It also highlighted ‘”forensic” attention to originality’ that included a set of period RS500 wheels and tyres.
Tremona Garage carried out a complete recommissioning service on the E-reg Cosworth last year, including replacing the engine oil and filter, spark plugs, fuel filter, cam belt and battery with genuine new/old stock parts identical to factory-fitted ones.
Pictures: Silverstone Auctions
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