The legendary Ford Sierra RS500 Group A touring car will be reproduced by CNC Motorsport AWS. This run will be limited to just three units and will be classified as a continuation production.
Each unit will be constructed from an original Ford Sierra RS500 bodyshell to an exacting design set by the 60-time British Touring Car Championship race winner. Just as it was in period, the first chassis, set to be completed by early 2022, will be built from a brand new ‘909’ Motorsport shell which has been unused and carefully stored since the 1980s. Cars will come with HTP papers, fuel cell and roll-cage certificates and will be ready to race.
Each car will use a freshly built 430 kW Cosworth YB unit with input from original ARE engine builder Vic Drake, who in period produced over 100 engines for the Ford Sierra RS500. The continuation cars will feature a Getrag five-speed gearbox, Proflex Advanced Technology fuel system and a 9-inch viscous differential. Other features include the correct gauges, metal brake master cylinder reservoir and specific ARE build plate. Each car will be supplied in plain white with options for painted liveries.
“Demand for competitive Group A machines is rising, enabling access to some of the best motorsport events around the globe for correct cars,” says Alan Strachan, founder of CNC Motorsport AWS. “RS500s are great fun to drive, relatively easy to maintain and considerably more affordable to run than Super Touring cars. RS500s are also a great draw for the fans that fondly remember these fire-breathing monsters. The cars will be all signed off by Andy, just as we did in period, with the provenance that can only come from the man who engineered and drove the cars to such success.”
Rouse set up Andy Rouse Engineering in 1981 with his team winning the title in 1983, 1984 and 1985, each time with a different car. Rouse then worked closely with Ford to develop the Sierra Cosworth into a successful Touring car before playing a key role in forming the Super Touring rules that transformed the category in the ‘90s. Rouse retired from professional motorsport in 1995 and this is the first project he has been involved with since the SCV8 concept in 2003.
As for the price? The three who are lucky enough to secure a slot will have to fork out £185 000 (approximately R3,9 million) before options.
