Ford Sierra XR8
You may remember the Sierra, the definitive ’80s Ford mid-size family model with rear-wheel drive. It was available in America as Merkur XR4Ti with a 2.3-liter turbo engine and with modest success. But South Africans had a different idea (via Which Car).
The Ford SA produced a limited run of Sierra XR8 models, which featured a 5.0-liter V8 engine straight out of Mustang with 220 HP. In light body and equipped with a manual transmission, Sierra XR8 could accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in less than seven seconds which made it perfect as a basis for a successful racing car. Since this was a homologation special, the production was small at just 250 examples which appeared almost stock.