SIERRA
SAPHIRECOSWORTH
2wd&4wd
2wd
When the required 5000 examples of
the three door Sierra RS Cosworth was produced Ford decided that
they needed a car with the same amount of power but with more
comfort and ability to carry the family too. The answer to these
requirements was the rear-wheel-drive Ford Sierra Saphire Cosworth.
It used a standard 4 door sierra body with the the same engine,
suspension and drivetrain as the 3-door Sierra RS Cosworth. the
body was modified slightly from the standard Sierra with different
airintakes, fog lights, and a new lower lip on the front bumper.A
rear boot spoiler was also added to stop aerodynamic lift at high
speeds.
4wd
After the RS500 there was an empty
slot in the Ford motorsport department. They needed a car to keep
up with the Lancia Delta HF Integrale and the Audi Quattro. This
lead to the development of the 4-door Sierra RS Cosworth 4wd.
It looked very similar to the Saphire 2wd, but underneath the
body there was alot of changes made to improve car. It had Ferguson
4 wheel drive system with two viscous couplers; one on the center
diff, the other on the rear diff. Torque split was 34% to the
front and 66% to the rear wheels. The engine was improved, having
changed 80% of the parts compared to the Saphire Cosworth. The
changes included new modified RS500 block, stronger head and stronger
pistons with new gudgeon pin placement to decrease piston slap.
A new Garrett T03 turbo, new intake manifold and bigger intercooler
was also installed. This lead to a powerincrease of 224hp. But
it still did not fulfill Ford's expectations. It did not score
a single group A win in it's two years of rallying. The reason
the Sierra Saphire didn't produce any decent results was probably
due to it's weight and size. Ford simply needed a smaller car.
The suitable model for the time was the Escort.
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