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Ford has a rich history in South Africa and a legacy of always being in tune with local appetites and trends. So much so that Ford has commissioned and developed many vehicles unique to South Africa, many of these to defend Ford’s true blue legendary status on local racetracks, and others to fill gaps uniquely found on the local motoring landscape.
Both the sedan and the bakkie featured a gold painted roof and wheels with a pin stripe running along the side of the vehicles. The rest of the car was painted green. The success of the original Cortina bakkie has also proven to be the genesis of the word bakkie in motoring, which is still used by all South Africans to refer to any type of light utility pick-up.
The 5.0-litre V8 engine came from none other than Ford’s halo performance car at the time, the Ford Mustang. The engine was bolted to a Borg Warner five-speed manual gearbox and a Borg Warner differential. It developed 161kW and 374Nm, breathing through a four-barrel Holley Carburettor. The side shafts as well as the drive shaft were upgraded to deal with the additional power. Ford also upgraded the suspension and braking system to harness the additional power and torque.
During its final years, the Sierra XR8 was raced by Willie Hepburn in the WesBank Modified series. The car quickly earned the nickname “The Animal” and went on to secure an unforgettable win at the old Kyalami circuit in 1987. Official performance testing at the time revealed an impressive 0 to 100km/h time of only 6.95 seconds, and a top speed of 231km/h, making the Sierra XR8 South Africa’s fastest standard four-door production car at the time.
Ford further developed the 2.5-litre turbocharged engine and the result was the Focus RS. It offered 184kW and 340Nm and was sold in limited numbers in South Africa. The RS featured Ford’s RevoKnuckle suspension setup as well as a Quaife limited slip differential.
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