AUTOART 1987 “Texaco” Sierra Cosworth RS500
1:43 | $50
Ford created the Sierra Cosworth RS500 for one purpose: winning the Group A World Touring Car Championship. To accom- plish that, they built a production turbo-charged twin-cam Sierra-Cosworth for homologation, then added the RS500’s unique double-decker rear spoiler, front brake scoops, racing suspension, and a few more turbo-fed ponies. The Eggenberger Motors- ports Texaco team duly captured the championship, with lead driver Klaus Ludwig second in the driver standings. AUTOart’s beautifully done 1:43 scale diecast has all the RS500 features exactly right, and its paint and graphics are excel- lent. Lift the hood to check out the twin-cam four with its turbo, side-draft carbs, plumbing, and big cowl brace; look inside for a stripped interior with a roll cage, a racing seat with detailed belts, a fire extinguisher, and a nicely detailed instrument panel. There’s more chassis detail than in most 1:43 models, too, with a crisply painted, relief-molded engine sump, drive shaft, and fuel pumps, plus a separate exhaust, transaxle, and big sway bar parts. The overall shape and race-specific details are perfectly replicated and dimensions are right on. There’s one nit; the Texaco cars carried race number 6 and 7 in 1987. The WTCC lasted only one year, and Ludwig’s car carried the number 1 in the 1988 European Touring Car Championship. —Wayne Moyer autoartmodels.com
