Car auctions often generate a lot of excitement and bidding wars as car enthusiasts sometimes impulsively drive prices up to record highs, sometimes doubling or even multiplying the starting price by 8. To achieve such high prices, the car being auctioned must be extremely rare, becoming a sought-after unicorn for many.
The story of the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 in a recent auction will demonstrate this. People were very curious about what could have led to the Ford Sierra from the 1980s being sold for $714,000, four times higher than expected?
Prior to the Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 from Silverstone Auctions being put up for auction, many anticipated that it would fetch a hefty sum of money that could potentially break the record of another car sold for £135,700, approximately $163,000 or 3.89 billion VND.
Therefore, the auction house estimated that this Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 would find a buyer with bids ranging from £150,000 to £180,000, equivalent to $180,000 to $216,000.
However, what they could not have imagined was that when the auction concluded, the final price paid for this Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 was £596,250, equivalent to $714,000 or 16.9 billion VND. That’s four times the estimated price and 4.3 times the price of a similar car sold last year.
As for the history of this Ford Sierra Cosworth, the car remains in its original state, with the exception of belonging to the RS500 performance variant. The car’s odometer displays an incredibly low mileage of just 5,192 miles, or 8,356 km, leaving many amazed by its condition.
Ford initially produced the three-door Cosworth to mimic the models used in its Touring car racing, releasing the standard version to the market in 1986 and manufacturing over 5,000 cars to meet FIA requirements. However, similar to BMW’s approach with the M3, Ford later took advantage of the “evolutionary” rules, allowing the company to upgrade the race car by selling only 500 street cars that had been tuned, which was named the RS500.
The Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 featured a more pronounced front air scoop in place of fog lights, an additional rear spoiler, and a new version of the DOHC 2.0-liter YBD engine developed by Cosworth with a larger turbocharger and an intercooler.
Although the RS500 road car received a slight power increase from 201 horsepower to 217 horsepower, the difference was not significant compared to the standard car, which disappointed some car enthusiasts. However, the modifications made it more challenging for Ford to produce a much-refined version. The RS500 continued to achieve victories in many touring car races in the UK, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.