Group A touring car regulations spawned some of the most monstrous road and track cars that did battle on the race track and in the showrooms. One such model was the Ford Sierra RS500 and thanks to CNC Motorsport, we will see three brand-new cars returning to the track.

The first car, alongside other projects, has been assembled over two years by a former Andy Rouse engineering employee and his son, and this has now been delivered to its lucky customer. For those who have ordered the two remaining cars, there is good news as the process of sourcing and building the shells is underway.

What is even more impressive is that the cars are being built to the exact specifications of the originals, which were prepared by Andy Rouse Engineering. To do this, all the machined parts going into the Sierra are produced by CNC Motorsport. It would have been a lot easier if they decided to just purchase off-the-shelf parts that were close to the original. However, this approach has allowed CNC Motorsport to keep these three continuation models as faithful to the originals as possible. 

Other ways that they have managed to keep the car faithful to the original is through the use of a 5-speed Getrag gearbox, period gauges, fuel tank enclosures, and roll cages that meet the same specifications as the Rouse cars. 

That 5-speed ‘box is paired to a 575 bhp Cosworth YB engine built by Harvey Gibbs. Extracting this much power out of a four-cylinder engine is quite frankly an achievement that is worthy of tipping your hat to, and it’s safe to assume that it won’t be a slouch on track. 

The road-going Sierra Cosworth is one of the most revered fast ‘attainable’ cars of the 80s. To add some extra spice to the car in 1987, the RS500 was introduced, benefitting from a larger Garrett turbocharger and intercooler, a second fuel rail, new injectors, and an enhanced cooling system. Externally, the now iconic “whale tail” rear wing would be found alongside a front spoiler, and ducting replacing the fog lights to help cool the brakes. 

As the name suggests, only 500 cars were produced and their racing counterparts were built from the same 909 Motorsport shells that the CNC continuations are built from.

Work such as this is the niche that CNC Motorsport fills, run by Alan and Andrew Strachan, a father-and-son team; restoring and recreating racing icons from the 70s and 80s is their specialty. Where they can during production they utilise modern production techniques such as CNC machining and 3D printing technologies. Using these techniques allows the Strachans to help put these icons back on the track.

The pair also make use of Alan’s experience of working on these cars back in period, allowing the team to ensure that the cars remain as faithful to the originals as possible whilst improving performance as well as safety standards, and not straying too far from the original examples. 

An added bonus of the Strachan's offering is that it allows period racing to become much more accessible as while there has been no announcement of the price, Alan said that his cars are a “fraction of the cost of an original.” To me, it is hard to argue that these cars are not original.

They’re built by an employee of the original team, with original specifications in mind. Even down to roll cages being the same period-correct style. While their build dates are decades younger than the original RS500 racers, the efforts of CNC Motorsport have created the most fitting continuation.

I hope this kick starts the trend of continuation models that stick true to the cars that they celebrate, rather than modifying a classic to become a modern car and making it something that it’s not. Give me one of these over a restomod any day.