WINGLESS WONDER

Reader’s restoration: Andrew Palmer’s Sierra XR4i is a bit unusual — as you’ve probably already spotted it dates from 1990 and it has two too many doors…

- Mike Renaut

As soon as you think you know it all about classic Fords, someone will come along and present you with a brand new piece of evidence. Take the Sierra XR4i for instance. Production began in April 1983, they were built for just over two years until being replaced by the XR4x4 and that was the last anyone ever heard of them, right? Well, not exactly. In 1990 the XR4i badge made a brief reappearance in the UK. It was still attached to the hatchback bootlid of a Sierra, but this time it was a five-door bodyshell.

“I’d call it the Ford Sierra XR4i Mk2,” smiles this Sierra’s owner; Andrew Palmer from Stockton-On-Tees. “To be honest I didn’t know much about the car myself when I first got it. I’d been looking for a couple of years for a first project car, something to recommission rather than do a full restoration on. I had an XR2i when I was younger so I fancied a car like that again — something a bit sporty. I had a mental list of ideal cars, and my Dad was into Fords so I thought maybe a classic Escort or even Fiesta SuperSport if I could find one cheap enough. Otherwise, maybe a BMW E34, a Golf GTi or a Renault 5 Turbo, I wanted one that stood out and that I could work on at home.

“In February 2019 I saw an advert for an XR4i in a classic car newspaper,” continues Andrew, “and it was only asking £2400 which sounded very reasonable for an XR4i, although there was no photo. I phoned and had a couple of long chats with the owner. The car was located in Ipswich — a fair distance from where I lived — but since the owner sounded so genuine I bought it sight-unseen off the strength of those two phone calls.