1986 Ford RS200 Coupe

The Ford RS 200 was the company's attempt at producing a worthy competitor for the Group B rally class. The RS 200, which stands for 'Rally Sport, 200 built' was the brainchild of Ford U.K. Motorsport director, Stuart Turner. Prior to this, the Ford rally car had been the front-engined, rear-wheel drive, Escort RS1800 and the Fiesta-based RS1700T. By this point in history, Audi's Quattro had proven the capability and effectiveness of four-wheel drive in rallying, prompting a drastic rethink at Boreham.

Ford Motor Sports Chief Engineer, John Wheeler, oversaw the development of the RS 200 project. 200 cars were built to comply with the Group B homologation requirements. The design, by Tony Southgate, eventually penned by Filippo Sapino as a compact mid-engined coupé powered by a turbo-charged version of the 1.8-liter 16-valve 4-cylinder Cosworth BDA engine (the BDT) and equipped with four-wheel drive. The engine offered 250 horsepower in road-going trim while the rally tune produced 600 horsepower. Ford's Italian subsidiary, Carrozzeria Ghia, was entrusted with the styling; Aston Martin-owned Tickford built the composite body-shells at Newport Pagnell.

The RS 200 made its first public display in 1984 and homologated in February of 1986 after the required 200 examples had been built, all apart from the initial six prototypes being completed at Reliant's factory at Shenstone, Staffordshire.

The first competitive outing for the RS 200 was at the Swedish Rally where it was piloted by Kalle Grundel who finished 3rd overall. The RS 200 went on to achieve a total of 19 wins and 32 podium finishes at international level before the year's end, securing several national championships along the way. At the end of the season, the FISA ended the Group B category due to a number of fatal accidents, some involving spectators. Seeking to recoup some of the £10 million rumored to have been spent on the project, Ford stripped down 120 RS 200s and rebuilt them as road-legal supercars to be sold at around £50,000 apiece.

This particular was sent to the United States in the late 1980s. It was purchased by its current owner from a Colorado based dealership in 1989, who never registered or titled the car for road use. Since purchased, this vehicle has only been stored in a controlled environment keeping its originality intact. This RS 200 is a road going model optioned with standard gray carpeting, red racing bucket seats, red leather steering wheel, tool kit, roll-up windows, standard 1-piece magnesium wheels, and full time 4-wheel drive. The Cosworth designed engine, assembled by JQF Engineering, has been driven approximately 8,300 miles since purchase.

This vehicle stayed with The Auto Collections in Las Vegas, Nevada since 2002.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2017