Question of the Week: what’s the coolest BTCC racer?

Last week, we found a Ford Mondeo Supertouring car turned sim rig for sale, and it reminded us of just how cool BTCC racers are. Were. Run-of-the-mill family vehicles with masses of power, XL-sized rear wings and a glut of sponsorship logos. They’re unashamedly wacky, and that’s why they’re so likeable. So which one's the coolest of the lot?

The Sierra RS500 is a good place to start. With 540bhp to hand, the rear-drive demon love-child between Ford and Cosworth competed in the BTCC for three years, which saw it take a scarcely believable forty wins. It was then forced into early retirement for being too dominant.

How about a competitor that won more hearts than it did races: the Volvo 850R. It was entered purely to promote the standard car in the ‘94 season, but what we ended up getting was a year’s worth of two-mile-long Swedish estate trading paint with… just about everything on the track. Could you even imagine this happening in 2025? 

Another shoutout goes to the Lotus Cortina: a car developed alongside the legendary two-time Formula One champ Jim Clark. It won a couple of races with the Scotsman at the wheel, but, more importantly, it was one of the machines which came to define the ‘small vs big’ era of touring cars. Seeing one of these slip past a massive V8 muscle car and then weaving from side to side to maintain position on the pit straight was pure theatre. And quite a regular occurrence in the Sixties. Apparently.

Agree with one of our choices, or does something else take your vote? Let us know in the comments, and we’ll bunch together our favourite arguments in Friday’s customary results poll.