AutoArt 1:18 1988 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 500 #8 Panach- Auriol- Rally Tour de Corse

The Ford Sierra was the full size family car, mainly built in Germany, that replaced the Taunus/Cortina. Production ran from 1982 to 1993. It was available as a five door hatchback or station wagon. The top of the line performance package included the the YB designated 16v, DOHC, four cylinder turbocharged Cosworth inline engine based on (are you ready?) the Pinto engine block. In race trim, this 2 liter engine produced up to 500 HP.

This model depicts the 1988 32nd Tour de Corse (Corsica) rally winning car of Didier Auriol and codriver Bernard Occelli. As a driving team, they had 16 first place finishes in 6 years for various factory teams. This model has all the quality, content, fit and finish you expect from AUTOart. Taped to the styrofoam clamshell is a nice 2-piece metal antenna which looks great compared to the usual soft plastic "whips" you find on most models in this mid price range. Other nice touches are the cast cotter pin fasteners for the hood and trunk and the cast elliptical Ford badging front and rear with a simulated cloisonne finish. The livery on this model is really sharp. The main sponser, Panach is a lemonade flavored beer produced in France.

Panel fit has fingernail-proof shutlines that open on simple arc hinges with the proper metal support strut. The hatch opens on unusually well-scaled hinges and working hydraulic type struts. Neither the pistons ot the hinge design, however, support the hatch in the open position. This may be peculiar to my example because a similar AUTO art Sierra variant I have does stay open.

The interior is classic AUTO art, achieving a high degree of realism with textured and painted plastics - made all the more important with the distortion free glass full glazing that makes this car a virtual greenhouse. The Sabelt restraint system employs cloth textured plastic with painted harware and is close to scale thin except for the where it inserts into the Recaro seats. There it is noticeable out of scale in thickness. The full race cage with security netting also looks realistic due to the use of very opaque plastic. The same can be said for the engine compartment where the use of textures, paint and finely scaled parts represent the type of parts that if done in mixed media would at least double the price of the model.

True to the sponsor appliques, the 8 spoke wheels are shod in white lettered Michelins that have a delicately reproduced tread design. The tires are soft and pneumatic enough under the models weight to look very real. In bang for the buck, I can't find fault with this model. From all aspects and angles, it's a beautiful little display piece.

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