VICKI PEARSON SAPPHIRE COSWORTH
Vicki brought along a well-spec’d Sapphire Cosworth that used to belong to her brother, Vinny.
“Sadly, Vinny passed away five years ago, but he was a Cosworth fanatic. We keep the car as he would have wanted, and bring it along to shows and meets like this to keep his memory alive,” explains Vicki.
Vicki admits she’s not the most mechanically-minded but is learning as she goes.
“I wish I’d paid more attention was Vinny was busy tinkering with them all the time now,” she shrugs.
But not to worry, as she has Jon Mansell’s expert Cossie-tinkering skill-set to fall back on – not too shabby, considering Jon’s impeccable three-door scoped the coveted Car of the Show, awarded by the CDC team.
Vinny clearly knew his stuff when specifying the original build, and created something of a sleeper Saph. Not that you can really call any Cosworth a sleeper, but from the outside there’s little to give the game away that this 2WD is packing any more than the factory 204bhp.
The original 15in alloys, pristine bodywork, and even the factoryspec cloth interior, all show all the hallmarks of an OEM-preserved showpiece. But pop the bonnet and you’re greeted with a 500-to-550bhp monster, complete with RS500 eight-injector inlet and obligatory T4 turbo. The gearbox, brakes, and rear diff have been upgraded to match.
Vicki may not drive it quite as enthusiastically as her brother once did, but she’s determined to keep the car actively on the show scene, and in doing so makes sure Vinny’s memory is kept alive too.