|
|
|
|
 |
When Group B era ended and Group A became the top formula for 1987, Ford was one of the few manufacturers that had a car ready to be used in serious competition. In fact, they had two versions of the Sierra but unfortunately for them, each of the versions had just one the qualities needed for success. The first one was Sierra XR4, which had four-wheel drive but was only equipped with non-turbocharged 2.8 liter engine. The turbocharged two liter engine sat on Sierra RS Cosworth but this version only had rear-wheel drive.
XR4 was soon found to be underpowered and team concentrated on running only RS Cosworth version. With just two driving wheels, it was not a match for Lancia except on rare occasions. The most important of these occasions was in 1988 Corsica where Didier Auriol scored his first WRC win and Ford's first win since 1981.
Such success required many favourable factors to play into Ford's hands and with Lancia having better car in greater numbers and better drivers in it, it was obvious that Sierra needed an upgrade. This upgrade came in form of Sapphire 4-door bodyshell and the much needed four-wheel drive. The upgraded car was named Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 and despite not being able to win, it honed the running gear to perfection before handing it over to much more successful Escort RS Cosworth.
|
|
|
|
| Debut WRC event: | Monte Carlo 1987 |
| Best WRC result: | 1st by Didier Auriol in Corsica 1988 |
| Rallies contested: | 10 | (works entries) |
| WRC starts: | 20 | (works entries) |
| Outright wins: | 1 | (wins to rallies ratio 10.0%) |
| Podiums: | 6 | (podiums to starts ratio 30.0%) |
| DNF's: | 6 | (DNF's to starts ratio 30.0 %) |
| Points scored: | 127 | (manufacturer championship points) |
| Avg points per rally: | 12.7 | |
|
| Group and class | A8 |
| Engine |
| Location: | Front longitudinal |
| Turbo: | Yes |
| Cylinders: | 4 in line |
| Valves: | 16 |
| Bore x stroke: | 90.8 x 76.9 mm |
| Cubic capacity: | 1993 cc |
| Power: | 300 hp |
| Torque: | 408 Nm |
| Compression ratio: | 7.2:1 |
| Dimensions |
| Length: | 4460 mm |
| Width: | 1920 mm |
| Height: | 1359 mm |
| Wheelbase: | 2609 mm |
| Front track: | 1470 mm |
| Rear track: | 1490 mm |
| Weight: | 1175 kg |
| Transmission |
| Drive: | RWD |
| Gears: | 5 |
| Sequential: | No |
| Clutch plates: | 1 |
|
|
 |
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth
 |
|
