1986 Ford SIERRA RS Cosworth

Built in 1986, this Moonstone Blue example wasn’t actually registered here until its repatriation to the UK in March 1988 after its role as a Ford press launch car in Germany came to an end. In addition, some of the documents suggest that it was used during that time by Steve Soper, the well-known saloon/touring car champion.

Little is known about the car from then until 2007, after which point it only covered around 1,400 miles in the whole of the next decade.

A full restoration followed in 2016 and this work, which was comprehensive in its scope and fully documented, has left it in fabulous condition and ready to move on to a new owner.

The car was treated to a bare metal respray in 2016 in its original colour of Moonstone Blue (photos in the Gallery), at which point any corrosion issues were also fully resolved. A great deal of care was obviously taken to get the doors, boot lid and bonnet properly aligned and it now looks fabulous in this rarest of Cosworth colours. It certainly makes a change from the more usual black or white.

The alloy wheels and centre caps were refurbished in 2016 at a cost of just over £500. This was clearly money well spent as they’re still looking terrific two years later. The underside has been finished to a good standard too and it’s nice to see that it hasn’t been slathered in a thick coat of underseal; the painted finish allows potential buyers can see exactly what they’re bidding on.

And, of course, it retains the huge rear wing that is central to the car’s iconic appearance.

The original Recaro seats are in good order, as are the door cards, headlining and dashboard. There are a few small marks on the seat fabric but that’s only to be expected after three decades of use.

The Ford radio cassette player looks to be original, and the separate audio controls for the left-to-right balance control and the front-to-rear fader are still in place. Similarly, the RS badging and three-spoke steering wheel have been retained, as has the boot-mounted rear suspension strut brace.

The engine was fettled during the restoration. The clutch was replaced too, along with the suspension bushes. The brakes were also overhauled but the rest of the mechanical components appear to have been in good order, as might be expected given the car’s low mileage.

The car is still in largely standard specification with the exception of a stainless steel exhaust, a full AVO sport suspension kit and an engine upgrade to 280bhp; the bill for the latter components alone came to more than £1,300, which is a reassuring sign that it was done properly.

The seller tells us that “the driving experience is simply mind-blowing. With phenomenal performance, braking, handling and roadholding, this is a proper supercar. It has a fabulous exhaust note with a hiss from the dump valve off throttle.”

The car comes with a massive history file comprising photographs and various bits of paperwork that document the car’s history and restoration. Comprehensively restored, the core of the car retains its hard-won provenance while sympathetic upgrades – with invoices to prove the quality of the work that has been undertaken – help bring it slap-bang into the 21st century.

The car also comes with a neatly typed note detailing the work the then owner carried out on it in 2005. These provide a fascinating insight into his (it must have been a man; no woman would have wasted her life typing this sort of stuff up…) mindset. Words like ‘obsessive’ and ‘anal’ come to mind, which probably made him a terrible husband but exactly the sort of chap you want to buy a classic car from.

Please visit the ‘Gallery’ section of this listing where you will find copies of all the invoices and other paperwork that support our claim that this car has an impressively comprehensive service history. Plus you will find photos of the restoration and of the car as it currently is, perched on a good hoist.

It will be sold with a new, 12-month MOT certificate.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past five years you’ll have noticed that the price of fast Fords is now as bonkers as the Cosworth’s rear wing. They’re rare now, too: the latest figures show that there are only around 590 RS Cosworths on UK roads, with another 1,976 on SORN. (Or ‘barn finds’ as they’re now known…)

And yet, while the very best, ultra-low-mileage Cosworths have breached the six-figure mark, we’re seeing signs that some semblance of sanity is starting to prevail with prices for the best cars having now settled at around the £40-50,000 mark, which is exactly where we see this example. But the best news is that the reserve is significantly below that….

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen in Grantham; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.