Sierra RS500 — the same diagonal, two years earlier
The scheme the M3 inherited. Same brewery, same driver, a different car and a different set of rules.
| Team / entry | Labatt's Team / Andy Rouse Engineering, BTCC |
|---|---|
| Car | Ford Sierra RS500 |
| Years | 1989–1990 |
| Decade | 1980s |
| Hero-car issue | Issue 06 — Ford Sierra RS500 Cosworth |
Reading the geometry
Andy Rouse Engineering built these for the Group A Sierras, and Tim Harvey drove one to third in class in both 1989 and 1990. When the regulations changed and he moved to the M3, the colours went with him — which is why the two plates on this page look like siblings.
The differences are worth reading. The Sierra carries a full-width white band across the roof and screen header that the M3 does not, and the flank diagonal sits shallower. That band is what a big rear wing and a long roof will take; the shorter M3 could not have carried it without looking top-heavy.
This is the clearest example on the site of a sponsor identity surviving a change of chassis, class and era intact. Colour and stripe geometry only.
Presented as a historical colour study for editorial reference. All team names, marques and marks referred to remain the property of their owners.
Sierra RS500 — the fuel-house scheme
Red roof, white flank, black tail. A three-part division that turns the RS500's whale-tail into the end of a sentence.
Sierra RS500 — the pale blue wedge
A pale sky blue, which no one else was using, cut by a white wedge that starts at the floor and finishes at the roofline.