Is this the ultimate restomod? British companies that include Cosworth are banding together to rebuild the legendary Ford Sierra RS500, Steve Austin style. The goal is a lightweight tour de force that weighs less than one tonne. And you could win the car by following the link.
Dubbed the Carbon Piranha, or Vision #148 (because that’s the build number of the Sierra RS 500 that the new car is based upon), it will “showcase bleeding-edge manufacturing and materials technology” according to those involved.
From the website it appears that the car has been sitting unused for some time. The idea is to reimagine the beast from an old-school touring car to something slightly more modern.
ASM Auto Recycling is disassembling the car, and 3D scanning every part to make a digital copy. These will be used as a template for a new carbon fibre body shell, with styling by Yasid Design.
Digital Manufacturing Centre (DMC), a supplier of lightweight, high-strength components to various industries will build the new vision.
This company’s experience will be instrumental to achieving the target weight, some 210kg less than that of the original steel-bodied car.
Cosworth will rejuvenate the RS500’s 224bhp 2.0-litre turbo four. Whether or not a performance boost is on the cards is unclear.
Nick Greenway of Cosworth said: “We know that there is a passionate fan base out there for the Cosworth brand. And what better way to celebrate a road and race icon than through the Vision148 RS500 project build?”
We will update you on this project as it progresses.
