Anybody know where this car is? just quite an interesting topic to me, as mentioned on the #499 sale thread on pistonheads it says its believed to be lost forever since 1988 .. not good...

just wondering if anyone actually knows what happened to it? it must be somewhere hiding...i dont want to believe it was stolen burnt out or anything like that either

 

Here is number 499. I wish i have 65K

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RS500-Cosw...ht_1393wt_1304

 

it is defo known about much later than 1988

there are many people who claim they know this and that BUT , nobody has ever backed up there claim

A very much in demand car and i would say would demand a high price once found

 

i seen that, its such a nice example, and now after seeing all the comments about it on here...well worth Ł65k

i know you get everyone saying what they THINK happened, but theres probably only a handful of people who KNOW its whereabouts etc....

Just find it crazy how such an 'important' car in the RS scene has dissapeard

i reckon if it still exists and is in good condition it would top Ł100k easy.

When was it last seen or heard of then Paul ? hate to think it was torched by chavs or sitting in a dusty barn unloved

 

I cant realy say much due to the data protection ,but it is defo known about much later than 88 , but it was still a long time ago that we can say 100% it was still alive

 

Fair enough i understand,,, But still, its good to hear it was known later than in '88 though..

Are there any more pictures of it except that picture above? its the only one iv seen of it

 

I have seen 3 pics of what is claimed to be the car ,but impossible to prove its actually the car without seeing the chassie number

 

ah the holy grail ........somesay its in a shed in ireland, i can confirm its 100% not in mine lol

 

I bet its been stuck in a shed and someone is rubbing their hands together waiting for payday.

 

Isn't the inlet of it or something on another one? I'm sure there is a part under the bonnet that is also stamped (I'm guessing by saying inlet, could easily be something else), and its on another car.

 

a shed in ireland? i hope its dry in there, and its got a fluffy cover on it keeping it fresh! lol....

Any chance you could post the other pics up Paul ?

as you say, cant really prove its number500 unless you see the plaque..

Greg i heard something on it was different from the other 500's..but dont know what lol

 

They never came with a plaque lol

 

Chassis number then

 

It drop 10 grand lol I bet it doesn't sell for 65 iver! But fair play to the owner always worth s try

 

I reckon it will sell at 65k... look at other ones for sale, or been for sale recently... asking prices of 25-45k.... and theyve probably all had bits replaced... this is original and IMO worth the 75k asking price it was up for

 

Don't get me wrong it's a very nice car and a bit of history but I still can't see it selling for 65 grand! But time will tell because if it dose I'm sore it will end up on here! And it may be worth 75 grand as you say but didn't sell for that!

 

Interesting thread! I'm sure he has been offered Ł62k for #499 so sure he will get Ł65, it would be the first car I'd buy if my numbers came up!
Paul, I tried to register for your rs500 site but havnt been confirmed yet?

 

Same here.. i also think at 75k, it was a fair price .... surprised nobody snapped it up!

But at that price, people want shitty Bentleys and Porsches... and more luxury than most peoples houses lol....

I wouldnt take 62k either... 65k is cheap i reckon for what it is...

If my numbers came up, id get on a proper hardcore search for number 500 ! (and buy this )

 

My guess is that an investor will grab that to sit on for the next 25 years. I know i would if i have that kind of money to spare!

 

You sure have mate

thankyou for registering and i hope you find it interesting

 

Would be nice to see no500 at a show some time.

 

Interesting stuff..So at the other end of the scale is number '1' a known car?

 

lol get the hob nobs, there are 2 people claiming to have number 1

the issue i believe is the lowest chassis number and the first produced.

 

Oh dear surely the chassis number gets it?
Hob nobs at the ready!

 

As Paul said lots of claims about the car, but the only hard facts are the car changed hands once in the UK, and that was in 1988 and it was never re-taxed after it ran out in 1989.

The car is still hpi clear and is still registered with the DVLA but has never been sorned, as that reg didnt come into effect until much later.

The inlet theory is a red herring, we proved that recently at Ford Fair. One component of the 500 inlet assembly is a modified 3dr part and as such has its revised part number etched onto it. This part number by pure chance also happens to be the YBD engine number that was allocated to build 500. All 500s will have the same etched number on them.

I have spoken to Ford heritage directly, Stuart Turner the author and many of the old engineers from the development days, none can remember what happened to the car. The car shown in the photo was just any completed moonstone 500 that was closest to the banner, that was confirmed to me, and build 500 was probably still being assembled when the photo was taken, as they took it right to the wire to get the cars finished in time for the August 1st homologation date.

Lets just hope if it does still live, that its not rusting away in some soggy barn, or being used as a chicken coop.

Number one is known to Paul and Daz and is now abroad. As the initial proto she was worked hard.

 

the other way to look at ot, it wasn't a 500 when it was given the chassis number, it was only a sierra cosworth. it only became a 500 after it was modified.

 

where is the first 3dr cosworth residing now i wonder?

 

I bet a few who have read about this car would like a crystal ball moment to discover what this car could be worth in the future.

Is a classic car a good 'investment'? http://www.wwtfd.org/is-a-classic-ca...od-investment/

 

Always good to read new facts
Keep em coming

 

It was a B plater, and there is a pic of it shown on the homologation certificate for the 3dr. the plate though is long dead. The first actual car was a mock up for the 1985 Geneva motorshow.

The only one Ford have was the d plate one in the heritage collection which was a long term test car with a roll cage fitted

 

Oooh some nice info there Paul!

never knew that it was just a 'random' 500 in that picture, always thought it was THE number 500 one...

Is the one in the Heritage collection the one with transparent parts of panels so you could see what was inside as such ?

I suppose number 1 is as rare as number500

 

cheers paul,great info as per usual mate

 

499 65k wow

 

Makes sense.. So when were the build numbers issued then or was this never official?

 

Build numbers 1 to 4 were given the the prototypes as they were the first cars built

Then issued as they were completed

so the car that had the first chassie number is not build number one

They were taken at random from a car park at tickford and issued build numbers as they were completed and left the building as such

 

Thanks Paul. Nice to know they all have official build numbers then

 

Build 500s chassis number is actually one digit lower than mine, they were just pulled out of the compound at random and converted.

Ford did all sorts of marketing dodges back then, build numbers were never officially produced for public consumption so it didnt really matter what car sat under the banner at the time. There is even a pic in one of the ford books of a black 500 on the bowl at dunton test track on a J plate, and no one has any idea which car that was. That plate is no longer "live" either


edit

my error - it was an F plate not a J plate, well spotted Carl

 

No this is the Ford Heritage Collection

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=130510

Fords person collection of special editions, ex rally cars, supervans, first and final production models. Deffo a place id like to visit sometime for sure but sadly not open to the public!

The Cutaway Sierra your on about is the Duckham Sierra, which can be viewed in the Haynes Museum

 

A J plate?! that could start up a whole new world ...

what books this in? maybe thats the rarest of them all

[QUOTE=MikeyRobbo;6028449]No this is the Ford Heritage Collection

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=130510

Fords person collection of special editions, ex rally cars, supervans, first and final production models. Deffo a place id like to visit sometime for sure but sadly not open to the public!

The Cutaway Sierra your on about is the Duckham Sierra, which can be viewed in the Haynes Museum


Yeah thats the one i was on about in the Haynes museum

I could see the picture of it in my head but couldnt place it, so guessed heritage as that was all i could think of at the time, apart from The Bonkers collection, but i knew it wasnt in that




Now its been said there could possibly be a J plate im more intrigued than before!

 

I will try to find the book in the attic and scan the pic. I think its called Cosworth the sporting fords by Graham Robson.

I doubt its genuine, just a plate slapped onto a black 500 for the press photo, which is a line up of RS cars going around the bowl, a saff has one fitted as well in the pic thats very close in number.