Ford RS200
The RS200 was Ford's purpose-built Group B weapon — a Ghia-styled, composite-bodied, mid-engined 4WD prototype that arrived just as the era ended, then found a second life dominating rallycross with over 650 hp.
History
Ford came late and ambitious to Group B: rather than adapt an existing model, it commissioned a bespoke car — fibreglass-composite body styled by Ghia, aluminium honeycomb chassis engineered with input from F1 designer Tony Southgate, and a mid-mounted Cosworth BDT turbo four driving all wheels through a front-mounted transaxle for balance.
The RS200's WRC career lasted essentially one season, 1986, headlined by a podium in Sweden with Kalle Grundel. Involvement in the Portugal spectator tragedy that year — and Group B's abolition — ended its rally future almost before it began. The programme's 200 homologation cars, assembled by Reliant in Shenstone, became instant collectibles, with 24 later upgraded to Evolution specification with enlarged BDT-E engines.
The second act saved the car's competition reputation: in rallycross, where Group B machinery remained legal, Evolution-spec RS200s with 650+ hp fought Xtrac 6R4s and quattros through the late 1980s, Martin Schanche's title-winning campaigns making the car a rallycross legend. Today the RS200 trades as one of the most usable Group B collectibles — road-registered examples exist worldwide and parts support is unusually good thanks to the standardized production run.
Palmarès
WRC: third at the 1986 Swedish Rally and points finishes in a single truncated season. Rallycross: European Rallycross championship success in the late 1980s (Schanche's 1991 title in an RS200-derived car among them), plus national rallycross crowns across Scandinavia and the UK — the arena where the RS200's potential was finally realized.
What to check before you buy
The 200-car production run is fully documented — chassis numbers, build records and the 24 genuine Evolutions are known, so verification is straightforward through the owners' registry. Key checks: BDT/BDT-E engine originality (many cars gained Evo-spec engines later; fine, but priced differently), condition of the aluminium honeycomb tub (crash repairs need specialist assessment), and the double-damper suspension's rebuild history. Ex-rallycross cars carry hard lives but real history; unraced 'delivery-mileage' cars command collector premiums. The RS200 is among the few Group B cars regularly driven — buy accordingly.
Did you know
- The front-mounted transaxle gave the RS200 near-perfect weight distribution — and one of Group B's oddest layouts: engine behind the driver, gearbox ahead.
- Reliant — maker of three-wheelers — assembled the 200 homologation cars under Ford contract, one of motorsport's more improbable production arrangements.
- An Evolution RS200 held the Guinness-recognized 0–60 mph record (around 3.1 s) for years — in the 1980s, nothing on sale accelerated harder.
In the marketplace now
View all →No exact Ford RS200 listed right now — here is closely related machinery on the market.
