By 1978, Ford Europe was working on a new mid-range model, codenamed "Project Toni", to replace the Cortina/Taunus twins in the early 1980s. Although still popular with buyers, the outgoing Cortina/Taunus was a 12-year old … See more

In 1985, at the Geneva Motor Show, the four-wheel-drive Sierra XR4x4 was shown as a derivative of the XR4i. It had two viscous differentials with two thirds of the power directed towards the rear wheels. It was origina… See more

In February 1987, a restyled Sierra was launched for the 1988 model year and a four-door saloon version was added to the range – this was marketed as the Sierra Sapphire on the UK market. The front end was compl… See more