This day in Autoweek history: Driving across France in a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth

Today we relive a drive across France in the Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth with Cynthia Claes.

This potent four-door sedan offered rear-wheel drive, a Borg-Warner five-speed manual transmission and a claimed top speed of 150 mph from its turbocharged 2.0-liter, twin-cam four-cylinder engine.

Introduced in 1986, the original Sierra saw 5,542 units constructed; 5,000 were needed for homologation in Class A rally competition, its original purpose.

Exactly 500 of those were converted to the three-door hatch Cosworth RS500, which saw a bigger turbo, a bump in power and other upgrades applied for 1987.

Thanks to solid sales, Ford and Cosworth responded with additional production of the Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth in rear-wheel drive for 1988-1989 and an all-wheel-drive variant from 1990 to 1992.

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By David Arnouts