Sierra Cosworth RS500 - Andy Rouse

Andy Rouse is one of the most successful drivers ever in the British Touring Car Championship, with a record sixty race wins to his name. He's known for his successes in Triumph Dolomite Sprints and Jaguar XJ12Cs among many others, but the car that leaps to mind on hearing his name is the brutal Sierra Cosworth RS500. This car dominated the BTCC for much of the eighties - in 1988, for example, Rouse took nine wins out of twelve rounds in his Kaliber-liveried car. (The other three rounds were also won by RS500 drivers...)
And here is that Kaliber Sierra in all its terrifying glory:






The passenger seat, of course, wouldn't have been there when Rouse was racing.







The RS500 weighed in at a featherweight 1100kg. With 550bhp on tap, it accelerated to 60mph in 3.5s and went on to a top speed of 180mph, given a long enough straight.





Here's Rouse racing at Brands Hatch in '88:




...and here he is last year, reunited with the old girl and stretching her legs at Oulton Park.