With this critical ally by his side he approached engineering firm Cosworth who had already developed the turbocharged YAA engine based on the Ford Pinto four-cylinder unit, but now with double overhead cams, 16 valves, and vastly more performance potential. Turner got to talking with Walter Hayes, a long-time Ford man who had been heavily involved in the GT40 and DFV projects and got him onside. The 1970s had been marked by the continuing successes of the Ford Escorts and the Ford Cosworth DFV Formula 1 engine, still the most successful F1 engine of all time with 10 Formula One Constructors’ Championship wins to its name. This is the turbocharged Ford Cosworth YAA engine, it’s based on the Ford Pinto four-cylinder unit, but it has double overhead cams, 16 valves, and 204 bhp in street trim or 350+ bhp in race trim. The 1960s had been a time of dominance with the Ford GT40 winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans four years in a row from 1966 to 1969. When Stuart Turner was appointed head of Ford Motorsport in Europe in 1983 his first order of business was returning Ford to the front of the grid. The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth – Britain’s “Cossie”
The car was launched in 1985 and by 1986 there had been 5,545 made. Homologation rules for Group A racing required 5,000 cars be built and sold.The car was developed on the Ford Sierra platform with a significantly modified Ford Pinto engine under the hood developed by Cosworth and capable of 350+ bhp in race trim.
The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth, popularly known as the “Cossie” in the UK, was developed by Ford UK as a spiritual successor to the Mark I and Mark II Ford Escorts which had been so successful in both circuit and rally racing.The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth was developed to get Ford back to its winning ways in Europe, with long time engineering partners Cosworth doing much of the heavy lifting.ĭespite a rocky start and its unusual looks, the Sierra RS Cosworth and its variants would go on to be a dominant force in touring car racing in Europe, Britain, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia, and a successful rally car to boot.