Thirty years since the homologation-special RS500 launched in the UKFirst group of display cars confirmed including the Shell-liveried RS500 (chassis DJR1) and the 1988 BTCC Championship-winning car driven by Andy RouseFirst-ever RS500 to compete in DTM (Manuel Reuter’s 1987 and 1988 Championship machine) plus Laurence Bristow’s 1988 BTCC race carMore show-stopping fast Fords from the RS500 Owners Forum and Community (www.RS500owners.com) expected to grace the showGet your tickets at www.performancecarshow.com today
The Performance Car Show will play host to a very special display as the Ford RS Owners Club confirms it’ll bring a rarefied collection of road-going and race Sierra RS500 Cosworths to mark the iconic performance car’s 30th anniversary.
Petrolheads attending the Performance Car Show will have the unique opportunity to see up to 14 of these cars together on one stand in Hall 19 at the NEC in Birmingham, with the first two cars already confirmed.
The first car confirmed is Chassis DJR1, the Andy Lloyd-owned RS500 that raced in the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) and Bathurst 1000 enduros in the 1987 and 1988 seasons with Dick Johnson behind the wheel. Visitors to the show won’t miss it as it is finished in the bright red Shell Ultra Hi livery.
Also confirmed is the stunning Mobil-liveried RS500 (chassis AREKAL 0288), which raced in the 1988 season of the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC). With driver Andy Rouse behind the wheel, the car dominated the series that year, winning nine of 12 races and securing 10 pole positions in the process.
For the 1989 season, the Rupert Kent-owned car went to race down under in the ATCC, Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000 enduros…along with a livery makeover thanks to title sponsors Mobil at the start of that season.
The 30th anniversary celebrations continue, as fans will have the chance to see the first ever RS500 to compete in DTM. This special RS500 is owned by Paul Linfoot and finished second in the DTM Championship during the 1987 season with Manuel Reuter behind the wheel. It competed for a further two seasons after that with Volker Weidler and Pierre Dieudonné taking the wheel for this car’s final season in DTM in 1989 with the iconic black and red Texaco livery.
Alongside this car is another racing icon with the 1988 BTCC RS500 driven by Laurence Bristow finished in the Rouse CAM Shipping livery. Andy Rouse Engineering built this stunning machine for the ’88 season and it also contested all rounds of the Japanese Touring Car Championship in 1990.
The Sierra RS500 Cosworth was first announced back in July 1987 and homologated in August of the same year. To satisfy the homologation requirements for Group A Touring Car racing, 500 road-going RS500s were produced – all in RHD exclusively for the UK market.
Evolution modifications were not limited to the engine. A new aero package introduced a new front bumper and splitter to increase both downforce and cooling and the tailgate had an additional lower spoiler and a Gurney strip added to the ubiquitous “whale tail”. Suspension pick-up points were also changed amongst a plethora of other changes to improve on-track performance.
The RS500 went on to become one of the most successful Group A touring cars of all time, dominating events wherever they were raced. 2017 marks the 30th anniversary of the racing debut of the RS500 and all these years on, it is still very fondly remembered by drivers and spectators alike as one of the most entertaining and iconic touring cars ever to grace the circuits of the world.
To this day, the RS500 holds the record for the most consecutive wins in the BTCC – 40 in a row. For more information on this unmistakable performance car, visit www.rs500owners.com.
Get your tickets to the Performance Car Show at by visiting the website at www.performancecarshow.com today.
