Car of 1982: Ford Sierra

There are strong cases for the Audi 100 C1, the Mercedes-Benz 190, the Citroën BX or even the Vauxhall Nova as the most significant car of 1982. But it was the Ford Sierra that made the most impact on the British motoring public. In 1981 Ford announced that its long-running Cortina would be replaced by a new hatchback that would resemble the Probe III concept car and production of the MkV ‘Tina ceased on 22 July 1982. The event was charmingly marked by Alexei Sayle’s BBC2 show The Private Life of the Ford Cortina. The five-door coachwork was a shock to enthusiasts but dropping the model name was equally bold. Ford could have called it the Cortina MkVI but it wanted to mark a new era. And, as Car magazine famously stated on its front cover of October 1982, ‘SIERRA SHOCK! It really is a good car.’