Africa-Press – Cape verde. As Ford South Africa ratchets up to 100 years, the country’s oldest automaker to have set up local manufacturing has just compiled and released what it considers to be some of its most iconic performance metal over the years, many of them unique to South Africa.
Here at News24 Motoring, we set ourselves the unenviable task of ranking them from 1 to 5. See if you agree…
1 Ford Sierra XR8
Was it the fact that Ford nonchalantly shoehorned a Mustang 5.0 litre V8 into the quintessential family sedan or the fact that production was limited to just 250 units that ultimately hands the Sierra XR8 the top spot? Perhaps it was the double-plane spoiler or the iconic imported Ronal wheels or the blue-and-white colour scheme that paid homage to Ford’s motorsport division.
Touted as the fastest family sedan of its era, the XR6 backed up these claims by managing 0-100km/h in 6.95 seconds when tested by Car Magazine. When it wasn’t fettled for racing in Group One, the road-going Sierra XR8 produced 161kW and 374Nm, breathing through a four-barrel Holley carburettor.
Responsibly, Ford upgraded the rest of the drivetrain, including bigger brakes, stiffer side shafts and added a 5-speed Borg Warner gearbox.
2 Focus RS
Fast forward to the mid-2000s, and the second-generation Focus RS, preferably in Ultimate Green, is the hot hatch that opened the door for 200kW front-wheel drive hot hatches to become commonplace. Not only was its swollen bodywork, compared to the ST on which it was based, and the exclusive three-door profile great at issuing a visual warning to other hot hatches, but its 2.5-litre, 5-cylinder engine capable of 224kW and 440Nm backed this up.
Back when torque steer was still a buzzword that plagued turbo-charged front-wheel drive hatches, Ford’s engineers got to work on designing a revolutionary RevoKnuckle system. This newfangled design helped tame the torque steer while the Quaife differential transferred maximum power to the road.
3 Capri Perana
The Capri Perana was particularly renowned for its dominance in South Africa’s Group 5 racing, especially during the 1970 season. That year, Bobby Olthoff, with his Capri Perana V8 Gunston-livery car number Z181, won 13 out of the 14 races. It also held numerous speed and lap records around Kyalami.
The Perana was a locally developed vehicle by the late Basil Green and could be distinguished by its larger wheels, double exhaust pipes and eye-catching colours: Piri Piri red or Bright Yellow.
Under the long bonnet, its 5.0-litre V8 imbued the two-door body with a favourable power-to-weight ratio; 210kW and 407Nm launched a kerb weight of 1 100kg. With around 500 cars being produced, a genuine Capri Perana is rising in value.
4 Ford Mustang
Mustang’s global impact got much wider in 2015 with the introduction of right-hand drive models.
For the first time, South African buyers gained straightforward access into American muscle car culture where they could experience the increasingly rare recipe, which saw a big normally aspirated V8 mated to rear-wheel drive.
Packaged with retro interior switchgear and iconic styling cues, the modern Mustang came close to making performance reasonably attainable versus the more sophisticated and refined German machinery.
Over the years, special edition models like the Bullitt, featuring slightly higher horsepower, signature green paint and manual gearbox, were added, along with the Mach 1 and California Special.
To this day, the Mustang is considered the world’s best-selling sports car, and its future has just been cemented with an all-new model and racier Dark Horse variant.
5 Ranger Raptor
From 2019, the Ranger Raptor took off-road performance to new levels, specifically in markets where the F-150 Raptor didn’t reach. With a 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel engine, 10-speed automatic transmission, an upgraded chassis supporting a wider and meaner body, and specially tuned FOX shocks, the Ranger Raptor irrevocably changed the bakkie formula.
This formula received added venom in 2023 with the launch of the all-new Raptor. This time, its powertrain was heavily revised, featuring a 292kW V6 twin-turbo petrol motor. The bakkie’s dimensions grew with it, as did the technology, driving modes and suspension tuning.
With many publications timing the Raptor’s sprint abilities from 0-100km/h in six seconds, the Raptor makes all other bakkies eat its dust.
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