SIERRA RS500
…or should that be ‘Copycat and Rouse’? At first glance, this may look for all the world like a genuine Rouse RS500 – but it isn’t, and its owner, Ali McMillan would never pretend that it was. Nevertheless, it’s far more authentic than you might expect…
Andy Rouse-inspired RS500 Touring Car!
If you’re one of those people who stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the linear passage of time, you’ll no doubt be astounded to learn that Tenacious D’s iconic song ‘Tribute’ came out as long ago as 2002. Imagine! That means it’s been serving as a helpful explanatory prop for anything that acts as a tribute for nigh- on a decade and a half, which is exactly why we’re wheeling it out here. You see, that song is about the greatest song ever written, the greatest song in the world. It doesn’t at any point claim to actually be the greatest song in the world, but that’s a point often overlooked by people who, having sleepwalked right past the giveaway title, refuse to accept the logic of what they’re hearing.
So it is with the RS500 Cosworth you’re looking at here. People see the legendary ICS Scotland livery on a Sierra, and immediately think ‘Aha, it’s a Rouse car’. Then they do a little digging, and get all affronted when they find that it isn’t. But there’s no room for that sort of pedantic grumpiness here; this car, as you’ve presumably guessed by now, is a tribute. It never claims to be a Rouse car, merely a homage to arguably ‘the greatest BTCC car in the world’, or whichever label you fancy playing with. The twist here, however, is that part of its creation involved a genuine Rouse RS500, and a number of those true-blue parts now find themselves inside this car…
So, not a bona fide Rouse car, but certainly more authentic than most replicas. This car is the creation of Scottish enthusiast and all-round Blue Oval fanatic Ali McMillan, who massaged this rather wonderful device into being according to a blueprint of the perfect RS500 in his head. The body is arrow-straight, the finish is flawless, the spec is just right, and the aura the car exudes is pure retro Touring Car menace.
“This car originally was
a Group A RS500,” Ali explains, eager to clarify its position and be as honest as possible – after all, there’s a lot of cheeky miscreants out there who’d happily claim to be legit if they thought they could get away with it. “It wasn’t a BTCC car though. What I’ve done is to build it up from parts that I removed from an original Rouse car that I broke up and parted out years ago… before they were so valuable and in such demand, I might add – along with an Eggenberger car I also broke up. So this RS500 now features the engine, gearbox and wheels from that Rouse car, along with a few other bits and bobs.”
It wasn’t just a case of crowbarring the bits out of the old cars to shoehorn into the new, however. Ali’s a fastidious sort of chap, and his growing collection of old-school Ford race cars bristles with sumptuously finished and impeccably presented examples of cars that almost look as if they should be in a hermetically sealed museum rather than being out getting dirty on a race track. Almost, that is, but not quite – for these machines were developed and crafted to be aggressive, brutal gladiators, and that is the destiny they must fulfil. Even if they have turned into Frankenstein’s monsters over the years.
The engine, then, did come from a pukka Rouse race car, but that doesn’t mean that it’s just been bolted in here and left alone. Ali’s treated it to a mighty overhaul, the home-built nature of it adding a fresh new layer of character to the project. “It’s got the eight-injector setup with a T4 turbo,” he
“It’s got the eight-injector setup with a T4 turbo and it’s putting out about 550bhp”
says, “and it’s putting out about 550bhp.” He’s got the YB mated to a strong Getrag 5-speed gearbox, its stubby little shifter sitting atop the trans tunnel like an inquisitive ( if somewhat stunted) meerkat. Indeed, it’s a welcome addition to an interior that’s beautifully finished in a manner that, arguably at least, it really needn’t be.
The guts of race cars are functional, utilitarian places, so it comes as no surprise whatsoever to spot that this RS500’s interior is shorn of everything superfluous, just as Rouse himself would have insisted upon. But the fit-andfinish is nevertheless outstanding; the milky blue paint of the floors and tunnel is matched artfully by that of the rollcage, complemented by a blue OMP deep- dish wheel, and myriad carbon-fibre accents abound to remind you just how serious it all is. The gauges, naturally, have been simplified, with a smattering of vital signs flanking the large central rev counter – and there’s no need for a speedo here. Oil, water, boost, shift lights, but it’s basically all about the revs. Don’t grenade the engine, and anything else is a bonus. That’s the retro Cosworth way.
Fans of polishing classic race car rims on their modern stance projects will no doubt stand to attention at the sight of Ali’s BBS E50 centre-locks, but this obviously is no fashion-forward affectation – as the man says, these were unbolted from that original Rouse car, and that’s why they’re here. They act as the functional (and beautiful, but that’s entirely secondary) cherry on the cake of a chassis that’s more than fit for purpose. See those brakes peeping through the muted gold spokes? They’re chunky, lightweight AP Racing units – six-pots up front, four-pots out back – and the suspension’s as forthright as you’d hope for as well. “The car uses Moton remote-reservoir coilovers,” Ali reveals, “as well as Eggenberger alloy hubs and arms. They’re different to what a Rouse car would have used,
but in my mind it’s a far better setup.”
Ali’s owned this car for around eight years now, having picked it up through contacts forged over many years of racing quick Sierras and suchlike. It’s the sort of close-knit racer community that ensures everybody ends up knowing who’s got what tucked away in the lockup or garage, so when things come up for sale it doesn’t take long for a buyer to pop up within the circle. And over time, he’s built it up into exactly what he pictured it should be – not a faithful replica, but more of an homage to a classic dream. Ali’s pleased to tell stories of how well the car’s received, how people love to see such a tidy RS500 running in the iconic ICS Scotland livery – something that he heralds as a personal favourite – and it’s very much a beloved part of the collection. “It’s a tribute,” he gleefully confirms. “My own version of a Rouse tribute, with all the good bits.” And that’s as clear as it needs to be – old-skool thrills, pukka parts, a perfect finish. Like a phoenix from the ashes of those broken-up, parted- out racers, Ali’s ICS RS500 carries on the flame with impressive dignity. You could almost forget that it’s a terrifying, fire-breathing monster that would happily claw your face off if you looked at it funny – as it sits here obediently before the lens, it’s as much a classic art piece as it is a race car. And does being a tribute make it any less ‘real’? Hell, no. See it in the metal, you’ll see it’s plenty real enough.