FORD

RS200

The Ford RS200 was the Blue Oval's answer to the four-wheel-drive Group B revolution that the Audi Quattro had unleashed on world rallying. Following the introduction of the Mk III Escort in 1980, Ford Motorsport first developed a rear-wheel-drive turbocharged car called the Escort RS1700T, but a problem-filled programme led Ford to abandon it in favour of an all-new, no-compromise machine, and the Ford RS200 was the result. Unveiled in 1984, the RS200 was a bespoke mid-engined, four-wheel-drive coupe clothed in a sleek composite body styled by Ghia and Filippo Sapino, riding on a tubular and composite chassis with double wishbones and twin dampers at each corner. Power came from a turbocharged Cosworth BDT 1.8-litre four-cylinder mounted behind the cabin, sending drive through a distinctive front-mounted gearbox; road cars produced around 250 hp while competition and Evolution versions, using the enlarged 2.1-litre BDT-E, could exceed 600 hp. FIA homologation required 200 road-legal cars, which Ford had built by Reliant at Shenstone, though demand and the end of the category meant only around 146 were initially completed. When Group B was abolished after the deadly 1986 season, Ford converted 24 of the remaining cars into the formidable Ford RS200 Evolution. Although its top-flight career was cut short, the Ford RS200 went on to dominate rallycross and remains one of the most charismatic and collectible Group B icons ever built.