Auto Trader

The 1980s was the era that loved lairyness and embraced excess. OTT was the buzz phrase.

But it all came together in 1985 with the Sierra RS Cosworth. Stuart Milne says it was greatest icon of the decade.

As a kid growing up in the '80s, my walls were plastered with some of the classic posters of the time; a Ferrari 328 and Lamborghini Countach jostled for position alongside the tennis player scratching her bum.

But in pride of place was the framed picture of a Sierra RS Cosworth, complete with the kind of lightening bolt background graphics that were de rigeur at the time.

The 3-door Cossie with the jelly mould bodyshell and a spoiler big enough to solve London's homeless problem is still one of my favourite cars of all time.

Not least because this Essex boy lives 30 minutes from Ford's RS division HQ in Boreham and 10 minutes from it's old Advanced Vehicle Operations plant in Aveley. And if it wasn't for the crack team of petrolheads, tuners and engineers; there would be no fast Fords.

Packing a 2-litre, turbocharged engine from motorsport specialists Cosworth, this hot Sierra had some serious poke. It would smoke the rear wheels all the way to 149mph, passing 60mph in 6.2 seconds.

It was quicker than any £16,000 car had the right to be.

The Cossie cemented Ford's position as the most successful British Touring Car team in history, duelling with Rover Vitesses and BMW M3s in the legendary races of the late 80s.

But the model that I wanted more than any other was the RS500, which at the hands of racers Andy Rouse and Rob Gravett was totally dominant on the track.

It didn't look that different from the 'normal' Cossie, but the trained eye would notice the discreet badging, lower front bumper, a revised wing, complete with a downforce-increasing gurney strip.

The changes under the bonnet were what really mattered. Power was increased from 204bhp to 224bhp thanks to a bigger turbo, more fuel injectors and some general witchcraft from the Teflon heads at Cosworth.

Few owners could resist turning up the wick to coax more power out of the engine, and 400bhp-plus isn't uncommon for well sorted examples.

Buying a Cosworth is one of the cheapest ways into the crazy world of fast and furious turbocharged cars. Three grand will get you into a Cossie and you'll pay well over £15k for a well kept RS500 - but these Brit bruisers are worth every penny.