32 Facts About Ford Sierra

Ford Sierra debuted at the 1982 British International Motor Show in Birmingham, shortly followed by the 1982 Paris Salon de l'Automobile.

Ford had confirmed during 1981, a year before the Sierra's official launch, that its new mid-range car would carry the Sierra name, signalling the end of the Taunus and Cortina nameplates after 43 years and nine generations respectively 20 years and five generations.

Between 1985 and 1988, the Ford Sierra faced fresh competition in Europe from the likes of the Renault 21 and Peugeot 405, while Japanese carmaker Nissan was producing its Bluebird model in Britain from 1986.

New for the Ford Sierra was a diesel engine, although the engine itself wasn't new at all.

The Ford Sierra had a four-speed manual gearbox as standard, with a five-speed as option but standard on the 2.

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The other Ford Sierra models had a more traditional front end with a two-bar grille between the headlights, being unpainted on the base model.

The Ford Sierra remained a popular second-hand buy and common sight on British roads until well beyond the year 2000.

The Ford Sierra tested in 1982 outranked both the Passat and the Ascona.

Significance of this result was highlighted more than three decades later, in February 2015, when the magazine reported that no Ford model had beaten a Volkswagen under their road test criteria since the Sierra's "victory" in 1982.

Ford Sierra missed out on the 1983 European Car of the Year award, ending second behind the Audi 100.

In February 1987, a restyled Ford Sierra was launched for the 1988 model year and a four-door saloon version was added to the range - this was marketed as the Ford Sierra Sapphire on the UK market.

That apart, all specifications of the Ford Sierra now shared a common front end, compared to the car's original styling.

Switch to the Sierra from the Cortina and Taunus was the second time that Ford had changed its saloon-based line-up into a hatchback-based one following the launch of the Escort Mark III in 1980, and before the introduction of the Scorpio in 1985.

Production of the 3-door Ford Sierra continued in continental Europe, including after the Ford Sierra range was given a facelift in 1987, but this was never offered in the UK.

In 1987, Ford introduced a four-door saloon, which was sold alongside the hatchback and estate until the Sierra was replaced by the Mondeo in early 1993.

In South Africa, the Ford Sierra range featured both the five-door hatchback and station wagon bodies and production began at the Silverton plant in January 1983.

The restyled Ford Sierra range differed from its European equivalent by featuring the traditional grille of the Ford Sierra Sapphire saloon on the hatchback and wagon, though later, the grille would feature on these models in Europe.

Ford Sierra was eventually replaced in South Africa by the Telstar in 1993.

However, Ford cancelled the Sierra once Mazda, which developed the Telstar, could offer a station wagon.

Furthermore, any marketing boosts Ford Sierra could have gained through Group A touring car racing were over with the Escort Cosworth becoming the company's standard-bearer in competition .

Ford Sierra was withdrawn from the New Zealand market in 1992, and it would be another five years before its European successor the Mondeo would arrive there.

Ford Sierra had previously used the name "Rural" for station wagons in Argentina, such as the Taunus, in a similar way to "Turnier" in Germany.

In North America, the Ford Sierra was offered under the now defunct Merkur brand, imported from Germany as a three-door hatchbakc and marketed as the XR4Ti.

The North American market had already seen the similar-sounding Oldsmobile Ciera, and the Ford Sierra name was trademarked by General Motors Corporation from the 1970s as a trim level on its pickup trucks.

Unlike many of its rivals, the Ford Sierra retained rear-wheel drive, albeit with a modern, fully independent rear suspension, departing from the Cortina's live axle.

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Ford Sierra had a diesel option on the engine, namely at launch the 2.

The Ford Sierra 2000E had two-tone metallic paint, alloys, light grey leather interior, and a trip computer in addition the standard features on the 'Ghia' models.

Ford Sierra used this to showcase the new DOHC twin cam engine which was released in 1989.

Turbocharged versions of the Ford Sierra were available as post-production models from companies like Janspeed and, most notably, from Turbo Technics.

Turbo Technics even sold their own pre-prepared Sierra known as the Minker; only a handful were ever produced, as they cost significantly more than Ford's own RS Cosworth.

UK production of the Ford Sierra ceased in 1990 with right hand drive production moving to Belgium.

Ford Sierra remained a common sight on the roads in the United Kingdom and several other European countries, and a popular second-hand buy, until well into the 21st century.