Not as exciting as a Cosworth, but not as expensive either...
Performance Fords have recently been given the magical superpower to defy the rules of deprecation, to the extent that this week’s Pill is a Sierra XR4i that is being offered for slightly more than it cost new in 1983. Which on one level is clearly ludicrous, yet at £14,990 it is still cheap for a decent-looking example of a nostalgia-heavy fast Ford.
The story of the Sierra’s creation has been oft-told, but could be summarised in the company’s slightly perverse decision to combine ultra-modern design with very traditional underpinnings. The Sierra’s slippery shape was frequently likened to a jelly mould – ask your mum – with its lack of a radiator grille between its faired in headlights regarded as being pretty radical by the standards of the time. As was the fact it launched with a hatchback rather than a saloon boot.
That’s because the XR4i needed all the help it could get if it was to muster a top speed that would impress Ronnie the Rep as he perused the magazine road tests. Prior to its arrival the most powerful car in the range had been the 2.3-litre ‘Cologne’ V6, which made a modest 112hp. The XR4i was upgraded to the 2.8-litre V6, as seen in top-spec Granadas and the Capris, with this making 148hp. Thanks to the aerodynamic efficiency this was enough for a 130mph v.