200mph 838bhp 1989 Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth

After 20 years at the top and a decade since its last feature, this high speed Ford Sierra Cosworth is still pushing boundaries thanks to a new lease of life...

Words Simon Holmes

Photos Adrian Brannan

200 MPH COSWORTH

The ex-Rod Tarry top-speed Sapphire is back — and more awesome than ever.

There are few cars that can be described as a true legend within the Ford scene, but this Sapphire Cosworth is most certainly one of them. Owned by the equally legendary Rod Tarry and built by tuning marvel Mark Shead of MA Developments, it was the first road legal Cosworth to crack 200 mph and despite its subtle looks it has been at the very forefront of YB tuning for over two decades. What’s more, it still is in its new guise, having been recently rebuilt and recommissioned by Mark.

We last spoke with Rod and Mark back in the July 2013 issue, but Rod’s story began in 1996 when he bought the rear-wheel drive Sierra Cosworth to use as a fast road car. A 400 bhp conversion soon followed and Rod enjoyed it like that until the urge for more began building, which is a theme that propelled him throughout. A 500 bhp build followed together with uprated brakes, a bigger and better gearbox and bullet-proof diff upgrade to ensure safety and reliability. But that’s when things got a lot more serious as Rod was spurred on when he discovered he owned the fastest Cosworth around, with a top speed of 183 mph and then decided he wanted to retain that crown. So in 2003 he commissioned Mark to build a 640 bhp engine with 530 lb.ft of torque, together with a shot of nitrous that would see around 720 bhp available; a figure completely unheard of at the time.

It was enough to keep him on top and in 2004 the car became the first road legal Cosworth on the planet to exceed 200 mph. To push the record further, a larger GT40 turbo was fitted to find 680 bhp and with a 100 shot of nitrous it saw the record raised to 206 mph in 2005. Still hungry for more, the development of a 800 bhp engine started in 2006 and took some time to complete, but in December 2008 the new unit made 838 bhp and 666 lb.ft, although no more records were attempted.

Lasting legacy

What was always remarkable about Rod and his Sierra was his enthusiasm and passion to use the car, and despite being in his sixties at this point he was often a regular at car meets, magazine shootouts, as well as appearing on TV. Sadly, Rod passed away in 2018 at the age of 72 before this revision of the car saw completion. He remains sorely missed within the Ford community for pushing boundaries and actively using the Sierra just as it was intended, both on the road and airfield but his legacy lives on, as the car’s final stage was completed by Mark, who pushed on with the project together with new owner, Carl Billings and now it’s back better than ever. “Rod’s original goal when he set out to rebuild it this time round was simple; he wanted to go faster,” remembers Mark. “There was no figure in mind but he also wanted it to be better suited to the road with more drivability too.”

The current build has taken around eight years to complete as it pushed the limits of YB tuning further than ever before. It revolves around an original 200 block that has been linered and includes a bespoke steel crankshaft and Mark’s own specification forged pistons together with steel rods to bring capacity out to 2150cc. A bottom end girdle helps keep the assembly intact, while a Titan dry sump set-up ensures it’s all well-lubricated. The head gasket arrangement is custom while the head bolts to clamp it are aero-grade bespoke items and Mark says this is about as far as you can go with a YB gasket set up.

The head has been heavily fettled and fitted with Mark’s own specification cams to help boost the huge BorgWarner EFR9180 turbo that’s fed by a twin-scroll manifold to improve spool and response. It’s governed by a single 60 mm external wastegate that vents back into the downpipe and 3.5 inch exhaust system, before being sent into the custom Spec-R intercooler. From there, it’s pushed through to the Jenvey Dynamics plenum, which feeds four individual throttle bodies; one for each cylinder, designed to improve low-down throttle response. Fuelling is controlled by an Emtron ECU and voltage amplifiers ensure the fuel pump pressure and coil packs don’t drop during sustained periods of full throttle. The dry sump set-up, improved electronics and ECU upgrade with motorsport levels of safety features to automatically shut the engine down if it sees oil or fuel pressure drop were also a welcome addition at this level. There are of course other tricks to the engine build and together it works brilliantly well, as Mark reveals.

“There are lots of little bits in this build that help make it a much better package overall,” he explains. “And the Jenvey throttle body set-up paid off as it helped it drive nicely lower down.

The headline power figure is currently 758 bhp and 604 lb.ft of torque at 2.6 bar of boost on pump fuel, although it previously made slightly more power with a bigger exhaust housing. But current owner Carl requested a smaller housing to improve response on the road, which is does by spooling a full 400 rpm earlier.

Stronger ’box

A testament to how well the car was built earlier on, the rear axle remains in place but the Tremec gearbox gave up during an early mapping session. It’s now been replaced by a Tremec TKO600, capable of taking the huge torque and the original clutch set-up has also been brought up to date with a custom TTV Racing triple-plate unit. Elsewhere, the original Leda coil-overs have been rebuilt and revalved by Black Art Suspension and provide a significantly improved ride, whereas the AP Racing brakes that have been on the car for many years still work well. Elsewhere, Rod was always very particular about what he wanted from the car; it was never going to be a stripped back, bare bones racer with a complex roll cage to navigate, although later in the build he did have a subtle roll cage made in the name of safety. Instead, the fast road car theme always remained, which is why the original leather trim is in place and there was never anything added that didn’t need to be.

Outside the car has been given a mild freshen up since we last saw it, with a return to amber indicators and the front bumper has been fitted with an RS500-style splitter and Sapphire 4x4 rear light panel.

Future plans

Carl is smitten with the car and has been working through the little bits, like replacing the solid mounts with rubber items to reduce vibrations, but Mark is still open to the idea of doing the 200+mph it did before. “If Carl told me he would like to do top speed events again then that wouldn’t be a problem; I’ve done it before so wouldn’t mind doing it again,” reveals Mark.

The fact this car still continues to impress is a testament to Rod and Mark’s vision, and we’re glad Carl is picking where they left off.

“DOING TOP SPEED EVENTS AGAIN WOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM FOR ME OR THE CAR”

Mark’s been developing this car for more than 25 years and knows it inside out.It’s still a Cosworth YB, but little of the standard internals remain. We’d love to see and hear it pulling the Saph up an airfield at full boost some time soon.

Plenum hides individual throttles bodies to improve drivability. Latest turbo (below) is a monster EFR9180.

Stripping the interior would have saved a decent amount of weight, but this was always a road car at heart.

The Saph retains an old-school feel with analogue gauges and separate switches.

Nitrous set-up retained for future top-speed events. Interior trim (right) is nicely original.

Oil tank feeds the YB’s dry sump set-up.

“ROD’S ORIGINAL GOAL WHEN HE SET OUT TO REBUILD IT WAS SIMPLE HE WANTED TO GO FASTER”

Tech Spec

• Body 1989 Ford Sierra Sapphire Cosworth, AeroCatch bonnet fasteners, Sapphire 4x4 bonnet and back light panel, RS500-style front splitter, fog lights removed. Paint: Diamond White
• Engine 2150cc YB stroker engine, 200 block, custom girdle, head gasket and head bolt set-up, MAD-spec cams, Titan Motorsport dry sump kit, Spec-R radiator, intercooler and header tank, twin-scroll exhaust manifold, BorgWarner EFR9180 turbo, Jenvey Dynamics individual throttle body inlet manifold and plenum, custom 3.5 inch exhaust system, Wizards of Nos nitrous system, AEM water injection, Autronic voltage amplifier
• Transmission Tremac TKO600 gearbox, TTV Racing triple-plate clutch, Jaguar 10.5 inch diff
• Suspension Front: Leda coil-overs revalved by Black Art Suspension, custom strut brace Rear: Leda dampers
• Brakes Front: AP Racing four-pot callipers with 330 mm discs. Rear: 300 mm disc upgrade
• Wheels and tyres Speedline Turini wheels, Toyo R888 tyres
• Interior Stack gauges, custom switchgear, custom roll cage
• Thanks Mark Shead at MA Developments

MISSION COMPLETE A PROPER JOB

The key with this engine build was increasing the power band and drivability to help it punch harder for longer, which is important when doing top speed runs,” Mark explains. “We wanted more revs and more power higher up, to stop the power band tailing off.” The new combination worked well as the engine now produces a huge 150 bhp more at 8000 rpm than it used to at those revs and the turbo provides a much wider power band that spools earlier and holds longer. Carl reports that the car still feels responsive too, making boost from 3000 rpm and is into full boost in the low 4000 rpm range.

Mark confirms he feels Rod would have been suitably chuffed with that. “He would be very happy with what we’ve accomplished with the car and I’m glad to say he saw a video of it up and running again before he passed.”