Bangers & Cash
Series 14, episode 7: a Sierra XR4x4 hidden for 30 years, a Fiat 500, a Beetle and a Skoda vRS
By Jon Cosson · Last checked
An independent guide from the village. Not connected to Mathewsons or the programme. For entries, bidding and the catalogue, go to mathewsons.co.uk. Checked 10 October 2026.
Episode 7 aired on U&Yesterday on Thursday 3 September 2026. The broadcaster's listing has Derek heading to Barnet for a Sierra XR4x4 that, in its words, is such hot property it has been squirrelled away in a garage for 30 years. The episode title adds a Fiat 500, a VW Beetle and a Skoda vRS.
The cars
- Ford Sierra XR4x4
- Ford's answer to the Audi Quattro, tested by Autocar in June 1985 at £11,737: a 2.8 litre Cologne V6 of 150 horsepower driving all four wheels, 0 to 60 in 8.4 seconds and 125 mph. The engine grew to 2.9 litres in 1988 and the car lasted until the Mondeo replaced the Sierra in 1993.
- Fiat 500
- Dante Giacosa's Nuova 500 of 1957, with a 479cc air-cooled twin of 13 horsepower, 53 mph and room for four at a pinch. The last one was built at Termini Imerese on 4 August 1975 after 3,893,294 cars.
- VW Beetle
- the listing gives no year. The last classic Beetle was built at Puebla in Mexico on 30 July 2003, the 21,529,464th; it passed the Model T's record in 1972.
- Skoda Fabia vRS
- the diesel hot hatch of 2003 to 2007, with a 1.9 litre 130 horsepower turbodiesel, a six-speed gearbox and 128 mph, sold at about £12,380, two thousand pounds less than a Polo with the same engine.
What they made
Mathewsons' published results include a 1986 Ford Sierra XR4x4 sold for £2,800 on 31 July 2025, the only XR4x4 the firm sold in the period, so we take it to be the car in this episode. The Skoda and the Fiat each have two possible matches in the saleroom's results, so we hold those figures, and several Beetles went through and we cannot pick one.
Visit
The cars on Bangers & Cash are sold at Mathewsons' Pickering saleroom, and the Mathewsons museum and shop are in Thornton-le-Dale.
U&Yesterday episode pages and the Sky, TVmaze and TheTVDB listings for series 14; Mathewsons lot pages, read 10 October 2026; Air TV and UKTV announcements of 12 April 2019 and 31 July 2025. Car histories from manufacturer press material, owners' clubs, Grace's Guide, Motor Sport, Autocar, PistonHeads and Classic and Sports Car.