Ford Sierra XR-8: South African Muscle Car - SentiMETAL

For SentiMETAL Episode 14 we head back to the Freestate for another fast, locally-developed Ford, the XR-8. There are few words that get us petrolheads as excited as a homologation special. We often forget how many of these cars were actually produced locally, some of which have already been covered on our SentiMETAL YouTube playlist while a few are coming in the near future. To be able to enter its Sierra XR-8 into Group One racing in the 80s, Ford had to build 200 of these V8-engined beasts. Earlier, the company had actually planned to increase that number to 250. Appropriately, the initial local launch of this car was held on the Aldo Scribante race track in the capital of South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, Port Elizabeth. Following this event, selected press gained access to the car a few months later. One can only imagine how exceptional and important this car must have been for Ford and the industry in the mid-80s. There is no mistaking the XR-8 for any other Sierra as it offers