#Throwback Thursday: SA-built Ford Sierra XR-8 on auction in the UK

The South African-built car was recently on sale in North Yorkshire, UK, listed by Hagerty UK, a prominent classic car insurer. The legendary Ford Sierra XR8 was created by Ford South Africa to do battle with two other locally built racers — the BMW 745i and Alfa Romeo GTV 3l —  in the SA Group One championship.

The XR8 was a standard five-door Sierra with a Mustang V8 shoehorned into the engine bay. 

According to Hagerty, in 1984 Ford’s director of product development in South Africa Derek Morris explained to CAR magazine why a European XR4i wasn’t used.

“The XR4i uses a three-door bodyshell and the 2.8l Cologne V6, neither of which are available here, so we would not have been able to produce the XR4i here at an affordable price.

“That’s where the XR6 comes in, as it uses the five-door bodyshell and Essex 3l V6 we already have. But we also needed a top performer in the range and here the Mustang V8 won out, because it gives us what we want with the least cost and complexity — there are no turbos and things to fiddle with and the V8 is easy to service and maintain.”

Ford knew a 3l engine wouldn’t be enough to make the Sierra competitive. The triple-Weber Ford Cortina Interceptor was having a tough time on the track, so the V8 would help to level the playing field with the German and Italian rivals.

A feature in a car magazine outlined the role played by Bernie Marriner, Ford South Africa motorsport boss, who was chatting to V8 specialist and racer Willie Hepburn at a Kyalami race meeting. Brian Gush, the acting chief engineer, told the magazine: “Bernie’s guys offered the V8 up to a Sierra prototype and, of course, it didn’t fit, with the main problem being the water pump fouling on the bonnet lock carrying cross member.”

Marriner asked Morris for help, who agreed that the project could continue “out of hours” with no affect on his team’s day jobs.

Gush said: “We used a Ford North America 5l Mustang engine with a four-barrel Holley carburettor in standard tune. It was only 100mm longer than the V6.

“The Sierra driveline would not handle the V8’s torque, especially the gearbox, differential and driveshafts, so we selected a Granada five-speed gearbox with shortened input shaft and unique prop shaft linked to a Granada differential unit and unique CV joints and driveshafts.”

A pair of headlights from the Sierra 2.3 flanked a custom glass fibre grille, with the XR8 riding on 6J Ronal 15-inch alloys, machined to fit over the calipers. Stopping power came courtesy of AP Racing four-pot calipers at the front and modified ATE Porsche 914/Ferrari 308 calipers at the rear. A “biplane” rear spoiler was used once it was discovered that it delivered quicker lap times.

The small-box V8 produced 149kW “out of the crate”, but the figure quoted for the Sierra XR8 was closer to 160kW — it helps when you’re not working to tough US emissions standards. The engine-driven fan was replaced by a pair of electric fans, with the grille pushed forward to allow for the marginally longer engine.

Ford quoted performance figures of “under eight seconds” for the zero to 100km/h sprint and “in excess of 225km/h for the top speed, so the XR8 was no slouch.

For context, a Sierra RS Cosworth could hit 100km/h in 6.2 seconds before maxing out at 250km/h. The XR8 had one distinct advantage over the “Cossie”: an eight-cylinder soundtrack. CAR called the acceleration “gut-wrenching”, before describing the V8 as “purposeful and raunchy”. Three words stand out: “real muscle car”.

The XR8 was granted international special vehicle operations (SVO) approval, with Bob Lutz, the then executive vice-president of Ford, flying to South Africa to do the sign off at Aldo Scribante racetrack. He ordered two, one for himself and another for display at Ford’s Dearborn HQ.

A total of 252 were built, including two prototypes, with the first two sold to Ford enthusiasts from the Cape West Coast. That’s 50 more than required, with all cars completed before the XR8 went racing. Car number 88 was imported to the UK in 1990. 

It’s amazing how something can look so familiar yet subtly different. At the back, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for a Sierra XR4i — the XR8 badge is the obvious clue to its identity — but the grille is the biggest giveaway at the front. The RS-style bonnet vents fitted to this car aren’t standard.

All cars were finished in Ford Motorsport white, with tri-blue stripes running along the flanks and boot and grey/blue PVC panel below the doors. The inside will be familiar to anyone who owned a Ford Sierra in the 1980s. Velour and V8 — what a combination.

It’s not the only XR8 for sale in the UK. The Car Cave in Scotland is selling car number 216 for £19,995 (R411,210), which should provide an indication of what XR8 number 88 is worth. Both cars require a little work, so you can put your own stamp on this slice of South African performance car history, concluded Hagerty UK.

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