- Cosworth builds some of the best engines in the world. Here’s one in a sensible, practical package.
- This rare Ford Sierra Cosworth takes the brand’s European family sedan to another level.
- This one is in Texas and unlike many imported Cossie Fords, it has the steering wheel on the correct (left) side.
The name Cosworth graces the engine bay of some of the world’s greatest exotics. The Bugatti Tourbillion. The Aston Martin Valkyrie. The Gordon Murray–designed, V-12–powered T.50. Each is breathtakingly fast, each highly tempting, each unfortunately also staggeringly expensive. Besides, you need a four-door for the kids. But what if you could get that sedan with the heartbeat of a hypercar?
This 1989 Ford Sierra sedan and it offers just that: a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine from the keepers of the flame at Cosworth, and it’s up for sale on Bring a Trailer (which, like Car and Driver, is part of Hearst Autos).
Cosworth has a long history stretching back to the golden age of Formula 1. And it also have a history of imbuing European Fords with extra moxie. The Escort Cosworth and the Sierra Cosworth are hero cars across the Atlantic. Cosworth is based in the UK, as are many “Cossie” Ford fans, which means cars that find their way to the U.S. are often right-hand-drive. Happily, this example originally hails from Italy, so the wheel and pedal are on the left, where you’re used to finding them.
Even better, perhaps, is that this Sierra is the sedan rather than the coupe. The four-door variant is hard to find and quite subtle, capable of surprising fellow drivers. “Is that a Merkur?” “Why the heck is that Tempo so dang fast?”
The answer lies under that anonymous white hood, the red-headed, YB-Series 2.0-liter inline-four. Fitted with factory turbocharging, this engine was rated at 204 horsepower and 205 pound-feet of torque, but of course racers and tuners could unlock much more power by pouring on the boost. Happily, this one hasn’t been fiddled with, and still puts down stock power through a five-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels. There’s the equivalent of 55K miles on the odometer.
The cabin is all business in light gray, the well-bolstered Recaro seats and thick-rimmed three-spoke wheel the only hints towards sportiness. The stereo’s non-operational, but a YB has a really unique yowl to it, so just roll your windows down and give the throttle pedal some welly.
Leave the influencer crowd to pose in front of their seven- or eight-figure machinery that will rarely see anything more challenging than a London high street. Instead, fly under the radar with this white sedan riding on its discreet 15-inch alloys, knowing you’re using one of the best fast Fords just the way Cosworth intended.
The auction ends on February 25.
Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
