Cosworth RS500
- Thread starter TitanTim
- Start date
Spaldingski
That’s cheap compared to some
Beerman said:
I guess it's simply the rarity, most were bought to be used or raced and have simply fallen by the wayside or languishing in a garage in a pile of rust.
I would have thought a car fetching that sort of money has the provenance to back it up.
Chap I know has an Escort Cosworth 4x4 Lux with 23k on the clock. Sits in the garage all polished up and never sees the light of day. One sold last year with 25k on the clock for £75000.
Tim.
:? 
It's all about nostalgia for people of my age (mid-late 50s). These were the cars teenagers and 20-somethings wanted but couldn't afford. Now they have a few quid in the bank and want to re-live their youth.Beerman said:
I had a Mk1 (111) RS Turbo Escort when I was young (the 'proper' white one). They are still fetching silly money if you can find a good one. I would love to have one again, just for nostalgia, but not for £50k plus.
The figures these cars are going for are mental. Problem is in 20 years time when 'my' generation are too old or dead, the values will plummet IMO. Look at the market for early 20th century veteran cars, now. They are worthless, generally, as the generation who loved them are gone and they are not relevant to the next generations.
Beerman said:
Thing is RS 500’s are easier to spot if they’re genuine as pretty much any other car Beerman, a quick look at the battery tray and injectors is all it takes to make you walk or talk on it, so many other areas point to originality too, and with the rarity and expense of parts you don’t see copies that really get the head scratching. There’s a guy called Paul Linfoot in North Yorkshire who is probably the worlds most knowledgeable guy on RS 500’s and anyone that can afford one can afford to pay him a day to look at a car if a potential owner isn’t 100% confident themselves, so it’s very very difficult, nigh on impossible to fob a standard cossie off as a 500.
I had a MK2 Escort RS2000 and a couple of 2.8 Injection Capris back in the 80s, so was definitely a bit of a Fast Ford fan.
I always wanted an RS500 in Moonstone but by the time I could nearly afford one in the 90s they were uninsurable.
Some years later a mate organised a track day on the Silverstone GP circuit and took 5 cars along including a Sapphire Cosworth in Moonstone that I found really disappointing. It was hard to keep it "on song" with terrible turbo lag, and then after a couple of laps it blew it's head gasket!
His XR4i might not have been as quick but was just so much better to drive.
I've since reached the conclusion that 80s cars were fine in the 80s but I really wouldn't want one now, which is just as well as that RS500 sold for more than I paid for my house in 2022!
I always wanted an RS500 in Moonstone but by the time I could nearly afford one in the 90s they were uninsurable.
Some years later a mate organised a track day on the Silverstone GP circuit and took 5 cars along including a Sapphire Cosworth in Moonstone that I found really disappointing. It was hard to keep it "on song" with terrible turbo lag, and then after a couple of laps it blew it's head gasket!
His XR4i might not have been as quick but was just so much better to drive.
I've since reached the conclusion that 80s cars were fine in the 80s but I really wouldn't want one now, which is just as well as that RS500 sold for more than I paid for my house in 2022!
