CarTorque Series 2 - Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 Group A

The Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 exploded onto the touring car racing scene in Australia in 1987 with the all German ‘Eggenberger Motorsport’ team entering the James Hardie 1000 only to be disqualified for irregular wheel arches, but they certainly left their mark.
Both the 1988 and 1989 Australian Touring car championships were won by the Dick Johnson Racing Team in Cosworth’s.
A Cosworth claimed pole position at Bathurst from 1987 - 1990, only being beaten in 1991 by the brand new Nissan GT-R. They raced from 1987 - 1992 when the Touring Car rules were changed. However, between ’87 and ’90 the car to beat was the Sierra Cosworth RS500.
The Caltex car was driven by Colin Bond and holds the record for the shortest racing life of any Group A car in history. It ran just 7 laps of Bathurst before it gave out and returned to the pits with an oil pressure problem.
Colin built the car for the 1992 Bathurst race, but the Touring Car rule book was already being re-written with the dominance of the GT-R and finding themselves becoming increasingly uncompetitive against the Nissans, this was to be its only outing. After the race it was parked up and never race in Group A again.
This is a story of the history as well as the resurrection of a once successful and famous marque. Rod has taken it from a forgotten memory to a glorious group A race car that he races in the historic series.

[@NigelJames87]

22 years old and still awesome

[@sarahdell4042]

I love vintage race machines! Thanks for the video

[@christokinieriem8796]

Brilliant car and thumbs up for the vid. Thanks mates from here in the states.

[@leecosworth]

Owned a road going 500, great car but prices have no risen to the point where collectors buy them, tuck them away and never see the roads, pretty sad, now have a Sierra sapphire cosworth which produces around 400 bhp, fantastic cars and a good vid

[@floww2953]

Yeah it's sad. These cars were made to be driven hard

[@danielbrealey2924]

Unfortunately it happens with anything cool like this... Even that Sierra Sapphire of yours must be worth a fortune these days... They"re bloody cool cars too. 400 at the wheels, huh? Very good- must be fun to drive

[@danielbrealey2924]

I always LOVED these cars- both on the street and the Aussie Touring Cars... One of the coolest looking race cars back in the day, and on the street the just looked wild... Would love to own one, but damn they are rare

[@chriswatson6730]

Amazing review and insight fair play Australia know how to race a cossie.

[@gaycha6589]

Legendary race car, from legendary period in racing history (BTCC)

[@TheXsK]

the Cosworth YB.. one of the finest 4 Cylinder engines ever built, along with the BMW S14.

[@theant9821]

the finest for its era, but not all time, it's basically just a 16 valve pinto with a turbo on the side. a legendary engine but not all that special by modern standards, but it left an incredible legacy, like the bda/bdg from the 70s.

[@MrIsmile3]

Definitely the best 4cyl of all time

[@markcozzie]

@@MrIsmile3 You clown.

[@Miatacrosser]

@@theant9821 a spec motor legend in the states.

[@theant9821]

@@Miatacrosser ? Didn't realise the cosworth yb was available in any American cars. You say spec motor? What spec, it came in several specifications (the original engine and other variations, and the one fitted to the RS500 share almost no components, not even the block itself), and raced and rallied in countless specs.

[@driver46]

Legendary car 👍 great on point video

[@rhysrhysrhys]

This is probably the best of your videos. Great discussion with a man who obviously knows the car very well and has a very strong passion for these beasts. Keep up the great work. My only suggestion is to stagger the releases of your videos. Releasing two at the same time is never good for view counts, as most will only watch one.

[@CarTorque]

iwearmoccos Thanks for the positive comments. Also happy to hear your comments about staggering releases of stories. As we go to air weekly on TV we thought we should upload each feature story as close to the on air date as possible. We take your point and might think about staggering releases in future.

[@nick-andre08]

CarTorque we Do own One not complete also an rs200 and a few other cossies

[@zoggon]

the only one thumb down is probably from this Ferrari owner ;) Great Ford!

[@magicki13]

This is a Ford Sierra on drugs

[@brucelamberton8819]

I had a Sierra, not a Cosworth, just a XR4x4 with the 2.9L V6. Great tourer, as it had such a good chassis. Always wanted to put the Cossie BOA/BOB 24v engine in it, as that's what the chassis deserves.

[@johneddy908]

I'm familiar with the Merkur XR4Ti which was based on the Sierra hatchback. It was sold at Lincoln-Mercury dealers from 1985-89. American buyers didn't get the Cosworth YBD or YBJ, but the XR4Ti had a version of the engine found in the Mustang Turbo GT.

[@cheloalvarez4551]

Awesome car! I have a Sierra ghia 2.3!

[@thedronedownunder3919]

Frikkin little beasts they were back in the day. Loved watching Tricky belt his Shell around. Great video. Thank you.

[@SpareyClan]

Right well i know where i want to work when i done my mechanics and motorsport course =D Australia here i come!

[@christiancosworth]

Cosworth is magic...💖this is anti Ferrari and anti skyline.Legend car

[@mael-strom9707]

Gotta love that Ford Capri Cosworth V6 sound at max RPM. 😎👍

[@pps900]

Thats older than twenty two years!! Anyway, a 22yr old 2000cc Ford holding its own against a prancing horse.

[@battfinkz]

22 years old when the video was made.....

[@peterbarber7613]

bond actually ran 2 sierra's at Bathurst.there was that car and the other one is now in England with djr01 and djr02 and the Longhurst car

[@Zabak74]

very very good very very nice cars ;-)

[@mej6519]

beast of a motor :)

[@tonypadilla8281]

Very cool video. Is it for sale?

[@upshirecraig]

Lovely

[@EugVR6]

Those were the end of golden days of motorsport for me....it just laid waste to everything before it, by the late 90s / early noughties, touring cars all became a bit vanilla but today its all looking good again.

[@joeylafferty4115]

I wish we had this car in america it looks really fun to drive

[@gearsowarx]

worth like £100k

[@TassieLorenzo]

+joey lafferty You do, you have the Merkur XR3Ti... It's "exactly the same"... or not. :(

[@FordForTheWin]

+joey lafferty you had the merkur XR4Ti variant with a turbo though tasty car aswell.

[@flacjacket]

+joey lafferty I have a 500+ whp cossie clone xr4ti here in the states. It drives like a dream. The XR4Ti is a better base to start a build on anyways because it is a much stiffer shell and to meet NHTSA safety req's for the US market they are seam welded and have the chassis bracing from the group A cars from the factory. You can pick up a really nice one for $5-6k too despite being such good drivers cars and being so rare. Easily the best bang for the buck drivers car you can get in the US right now.

[@theant9821]

American pride wouldn't stomach a 4 cylinder Sierra humiliating the V8 tubs of lard sold in North America. Though i think there was a v8 Sierra sold in South Africa, but i might be wrong i can't remember.

[@Adam151082]

Love the wheels, are they 16"?

[@antonisgalanis3635]

17x9

[@DoNkEyDuK]

So you guys are aussie based? And primarily round Bathurst area too?

[@jackoboymm]

can you tell me please what channel would that be? 😊

[@Rusty_Gold85]

Why didnt they import the bog standard versions out to Australia ?

[@Ankan..]

Such a great car, one of my all time favorite race cars and of course it puts a big smile on my face when the Ferrari can't keep up with it!😈 Thank's 4 the upload, great video👍

[@Ankan..]

Ben Dover Thanks for that knowledge about Ferrari.👍 But I kind of meant it like: It's cool that you can take an ordinary road car and rebuild and make them beat like an Ferrari. Or any other of those sports cars! With only 4 cylinders and a massive turbo. I only thought of it because I like to race online and then I drive mostly Ford Sierra or zackspeed Capri gt. And leaving those factoriebuildt sports cars in the rearview mirror.😉

[@Ankan..]

Ben Dover Yea in that comperasing I guess the only thing you can truly put against the Ferarri is the Gt40 in that case. But I'm not that big of a fan of factory built super cars.

[@wyattoutlaw2370]

I always thought they were awd?

[@ElementsMMA]

Wait, did he say until 3900 rpm it only pumps out 80 to 90bhp? Wtf?

[@meganjay30]

Pushing is understeer I thought.. but that's in front wheel drive terms.. what's the opposite to understeer in a rear wheel drive ? Oversteer ie- drifting lol

[@filicata629]

The Best Group A Touringcar of all time after the R32 Skyline GTR...

[@nnoddy8161]

Hmmmm.....according to the record books, it is the E30 M3. Group A was just a brilliant series.

[@mael-strom9707]

Allan Moffat's Ford Capri quad-cam Cosworth V6 was little known but probably the first of the Euro entries down under to give the V8 minions a bit of a shock.

[@jeancharlesrabaux5658]

J ai eux la meme en 4 portes et j ai toujours regraiter de mon accident elle etait reparable mais la ou je l avait stoquer le gars a vendu le terrains et la voitures et partie a la casses ci c est pas malheureus pour une telle voitures je m en mort encore les doigts 20 ans plus tard

[@ungurdani8346]

Salut my friend super car super video subscribe subscribe ..

[@zairomolino4074]

today's race car i.e. wtcc are silly.

[@markcozzie]

Killer watts,it's not electric? Should be bhp? Only joking. ...

[@mael-strom9707]

It's eclectic killer wasps. 😁😋

[@user-cq5qc9go6z]

Форд Сиерра против Форда Тауруса

[@brookie1141]

Looks like the dodge Daytona turbo z

[@leebroadbent5757]

Noooooo... it looks like a Ford Sierra RS 500 Bathhurst touring car....

[@lukekindred1999]

Just can't beat a Cossie

[@mael-strom9707]

Ford Capri quad-cam V6 Cossie is pure sound porn. 😍🤣😋

[@JoaoSilva-hl4fy]

Doesnt anyone wants to give me one? no money here :(

[@hugh-johnfleming289]

One minute the guy is bragging how he melted the brake system last weekend and then he extols his smooth and conservative style of driving. Blowhard.

[@Jetwreck]

Hugh-John Fleming lol.

[@Jetwreck]

drakey27 considering I was the driver I recon I know what happened in testing.

[@Jetwreck]

I know who the blowhard is.

[@fugawiaus]

Craig Markland he obviously didn't see the turbo exhaust is right next to the plastic brake reservoir. He's definitely a blowhard. Nice sierra. Johnson reckons most first timers end up spinning them around. I tip my hat to you.

[@JevsSupra]

How come your channel have only 7.5k subs? :) i am in shock.. some Justin Bieber shit gets millions and art like that 7.5k.. Nothing is going to save our planet..

[@markymark2789]

Group A for life! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpu6kod-maiEgJY

[@josephelias9081]

The GTR made a mockery of the RS500 and the GTR was already dominating by 1992. What happened soon after was Australia changing the rules to outlaw Godzilla's dominance.

[@Zero_Ninety]

The Sierra was dominating Grp A long before the Skyline appeared.

[@katielouise4997]

Yes its very easy to "make a mockery" of any car when you have a very clear technical & I emphasise totally unfair advantage . Here we have the cossie with a little 2 litre engine with 1 turbo driving just the rear wheels on an already outdated racing chassis , in essence the ford was too short & narrow with non progressive power delivery that came on like a bomb after the lag vs the GTR with a 6 cylinder 3 litre engine with twin turbos & driving all 4 wheels on a much more modern & balanced racing chassis . In the wet the advantage was even more pronounced beating everything including the V8 's . The only way to make it fair was make everyone run GTR'S which would make for very boring , one nameplate racing or piss them off altogether . Luckily they chose the latter , the aussie built V8 racing days are now over & so is my enthusiasm for the great race , bathurst . Yes I am a lifelong ford fan , however , I have always enjoyed the battles , Holden vs Ford , Red vs Blue , based on aussie built cars , forever locked in memory , now sadly over . RIP.

[@Hyperno47]

Having said that, the Gibson GTR didn't make a mockery of the Sierra considering the Sierra first saw the light of day about five years before the GTR hit the mountain. Considering the relative time frames between both vehicles, Dick Johnson in his chassis number 5 Sierra defiantly put up a good fight against the technically superior GTR. Quite an impressive feat for the little Sierra considering the technical differences that come with an obviously far newer vehicle.

[@davyfaeforth]

It took Nissan another 2cylinders another 700cc and 4wd to beat the 2lt ford

[@MrIsmile3]

Gtr was born because of rs500

[@esuohdica]

What the fuk is 370kW?? It's not a bloody power station. Speak English boyy!