Silverstone Auctions sold a Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth at its Race Retro sale for an incredible £596,250 including fees, smashing previous records for the model
The classic car world has been rocked by the Silverstone Auctions sale of a 1987 Sierra RS500 Cosworth at Race Retro. The low-mileage Ford, billed as “perhaps the finest example of Ford’s most desired Cosworth ever”, was predicted to break global auction records by selling for an estimated £150,000–180,000, but ended up changing hands for an astonishing £596,250 including fees – many times more that paid for numerous blue-chip classics elsewhere in the sale.
One of only 500 models converted by Aston Martin Tickford, the desirable 5192-mile Sierra RS500 smashed the previous world record price of £135,700 set in November 2022.This latest result further underlines the insatiable appetite for 1980s fast Fords, which seemingly know no bounds in their levels of desirability. Silverstone Auctions took to social media to express its feelings with one word: “Incredible”.
Elsewhere in the sale a number of Fords sold for decent sums, but nowhere near the Sierra’s record-smashing sum. A 1966 Ford Lotus Cortina achieved £34,650, while a race-prepared 1994 Escort RS Cosworth made £31,667 and a one-owner-from-new 1990 Ford Sierra Sapphire RS achieved £109,125.
The incredible top result at the Race Retro sale follows on from Silverstone’s recent headline-grabbing sale of a 1985 Ford Escort RS Turbo for £722,500 in August 2022. Rare black paintwork and low miles contributed to the result, but the incredible price was largely down to its royal connection to former owner Diana, Princess of Wales.
It’s clear that the market has an appetite for mint-condition fast Fords, particularly those from the 1980s and 1990s. Values for older and newer examples remain strong, with early Noughties examples showing signs of considerable growth: Silverstone sold a ‘timewarp’ 2003 Focus RS Mk1 at its NEC Classic Motor Show sale for £74,833 last year, and a similarly mint-condition Focus RS Mk2 for £63,000.
