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 Just seen one of these out and about on the A4.... making some lovely BWWWAAAARP BWWAAAARP WHP-TSH noises.... Do we think them 'lovely' or 'scummy'? Surely their 'retro moment' must be just about upon us? Eclipsed by the ubiquitous Subaru Impreza in terms of 'council estate chic', but still with mind blowing performance. Numbers must be diminished too, due to theft, crashing and numpty ownership? Or is the reputation going to be forever tarnished by the 1 billion shonky replicas and 'benefit fraudster with a fierce dog' ownership stereotype? Discuss. |
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Last Edit: Dec 5, 2006 2:14:56 GMT by arthurbrown
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Unfortunately when I see a Sierra Cosworth, or more often something attempting to be one, I generally expect to see a baseball cap, 12 year old girl in the passenger seat and a baby chair tucked away nicely in the back.
Even more unfortunate is that the majority of the time I am correct in my assumptions.
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I were a baseball cap .sometimes have my 13 yr old daughter in tow or the baby in the seat , what do I drive retro.s thats a bad asumption there .think the same for a few members too . and my daily driver too,, wish I was 19 or there abouts but the years take there toll with kids houses and life , not having a go at you just your daft assumption thats all . sean  just read your bio your 37 but your asumption was that of a kid |
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Oh I totally agree it's a stupid assumption, but at least where I live it is always a correct one, I always stand hoping to be proven wrong. Maybe it's just Stoke-on-Trent  |
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Saru
Part of things
No Brand Loyalty
Posts: 460
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making some lovely BWWWAAAARP BWWAAAARP WHP-TSH noises.... Lovely. Living in the Colonies, I had no idea that these had such a reputation. Indeed, my view would have been "singularly awesome E34 alternative". But then I suspect that E34's have a different reputation back in Blighty, too. |
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1974 Saab 99 EMSI bought a new car. It's 35 years old. My friends said I was mad. We'll see.
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Bioshock
Posted a lot
It aint hip to be square.
Posts: 1,861
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Love em.
Both the sapphire and of course the three door.
These were the cars that bought supercar performance to the average working man.
They are iconic and does the fact that they and the scooby fall into the affordable class detract from that? In my opinion,no.
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Almera GTI = ugly bird who turns out to be great in the sack = Win
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Snoozin
Posted a lot
Toyophile
Posts: 1,557
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I love em, but much like Saru, here they don't suffer from having been at the hands of fiendish louts, as they are afforded a much more "prestige" status, and are pretty thin on the ground really.
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imo they are not retro along way off ,
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I'm a bog ford man myself and have been the proud owner of cossies in the past. however saphs do tend to be a bit too common really and look a bit plain. When ou see a saph you only realise its something special because its clean. When you see a three door drive past it shouts at you and waves its tale to let you know its a force to be reckoned with. IMO
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Saru
Part of things
No Brand Loyalty
Posts: 460
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^^^Thus the appeal of the Sapphire.  |
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1974 Saab 99 EMSI bought a new car. It's 35 years old. My friends said I was mad. We'll see.
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^^^Thus the appeal of the Sapphire. or this    'Do we think them 'lovely' or 'scummy'?' Basically scummy in a lovely kind of way. like primera gt (p10), cav gsi, rover 216 gti, bx 16v, alfa 164 3.0 luvli |
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I love them. I'm not a Ford kinda guy really - I could never see myself driving a blue oval (sorry Ford Fans!) but I'd have a Sapphire Cosworth for sure. Motorway muncher that has jacked in the photocopier rep job and taken up streetfighting instead ;D Subtle, yet a fearsome punch. I'd have a 4x4 in that metallic grey I think they are getting a bit old now for the scally image, it's all Imprezas these days. The saff is on the up, for sure. |
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Great car, poor image and too many fakes. |
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Unfortunately there are less left than people think! The predecessor to the Impreza in the 'steal, drive fast, crash, burn' culture, a lot of them have been destroyed, similar to the early Imprezas, which came with minimal security.
Adam
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1997 TVR Chimaera
2009 Westfield Megabusa
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Bioshock
Posted a lot
It aint hip to be square.
Posts: 1,861
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Unfortunately there are less left than people think! The predecessor to the Impreza in the 'steal, drive fast, crash, burn' culture, a lot of them have been destroyed, similar to the early Imprezas, which came with minimal security. Adam 'Course a lot have been destroyed in motorsport too! Before the Impreza,they were the fav weapon in clubman rallys etc. |
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Almera GTI = ugly bird who turns out to be great in the sack = Win
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i tend to stand on the roof.
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qwerty
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 2,417
Club RR Member Number: 52
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Few years back I used to hate them but now I absolutely love them!
Yhey're understated yet people know what the cosworth badge means.
I would have a Magenta 2wd on rondell's.
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,538
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I don't think there's any doubting their Retro credentials these days but for me it'd have to be an early 2 door. |
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable. |
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As a machine, I think the Sapphire Cosworth is fantastic (naturally!) Great brakes, great suspension, over 200BHP, nice slick T5 'box, and comfy seats. (Obviously this is all juding by late-'80s standards!) Plus they were relatively affordable. Makes for a relatively sensible daily driver. If I had the money I'd quite like one, but it would last about thirteen seconds parked outside my house.  I drove a '92 4x4 which had been worked on by Severn Valley Motorsport when I was 19 and it scared the curse word out of me. In a good way! ;D Best Sapphire Cosworth I've ever seen had been reshelled.. into a maritime blue '88 1.6L like mine! Looked standard except for 3-door rims. Even had the "L" interior - the bloke sold the Recaros to buy a roll cage. Proper stealth! |
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My fleet:
Suzuki GSX-R600Y SRAD with bald, melted tyres
A borrowed Mondeo
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MWF
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,945
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The 3drs have a good image now but did go through a bad patch only 5-10 years ago when their prices crashed and they became the travellers choice. It seems you can cut the Saphs down the middle, many are snapped up because they are a very cheap way into Cosworth YB ownership and thus tend to be the ones you see down Ace Cafe 'drifting' where as there are some well kept examples that really have a special presence when you see them on the road.
I think in time the shonky saphs will die their deaths, the good ones will become rare and their profile will go up. Might even make a sound investment with the right timing and the right car.
I've been fortunate enough to drive a 400bhp+ 4x4 Saph in anger and that kind of power through the standard gearing is immense, far more brutal a delivery than say a DB9. Don't believe the BS that surrounds these cars brought about by cheap/poor tuning. Done right for the road they pull like a normal 2.0 16v car to 3K and then take off like a scalded cat. During my outing I thought I'd pick on an Impreza but the tuner frantically shouted for me to race a CBR600. Rolling start from about 20mph uphill up a private dual carriageway he could only sit about a foot in front until we hit three figures and we pulled past.
The thing is though a standard Sierra/Saph Cosworth isn't a particularly impressive performing car by today's standards. 200bhp is nothing special and being a Sierra the suspension setup is no where near as sophisticated as the Imprezas and Evos. Getting one to perform above ~350bhp is not a cheap task, you just end up chasing problems such as the gearbox and diff failures and parts sadly tend to carry heft Cossie tax. Most realistic Cossie owners happily admit there are better value, better performing and more reliable cars out there.
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Last Edit: Dec 5, 2006 9:52:58 GMT by MWF
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just read your bio your 37 but your asumption was that of a kid 
