2023 Ford RS200 Tribute

The RS200 was born in the era of 'Group B' rallying, undeniably the most extreme period in rally history with all competing manufacturers turning every dial 'up to 11'. The power was immense, the courses dangerous and, no matter how high the level of a driver's skill, it was always outmatched by the sheer bravery required to pilot these machines at full chat. Whilst Ford’s competitors developed their rally cars from suitable models in their road car range, Lancia with their S4 Integrale, Audi with the S1 Quattro and Peugeot with their T16 205, Ford took a more extreme route, building a competitive rally car and then using it as the basis for a well-engineered, road-legal version, purely to tick the homologation boxes.

The new car featured a Cosworth-developed 1803cc four-cylinder twin-cam 16V BDT fitted with a Garett T03/04 turbocharger mounted behind the driver, an advanced/switchable four-wheel-drive system, a lightweight composite body (designed by Ghia) and a chassis, built around a honeycombed aluminium, steel and carbon fibre central tub, devised by Formula One designer, Tony Southgate in conjunction with F1 engineer, John Wheeler, and went on to become one of the most revered, if underachieving, rally cars of the century.

In reality, the RS200 only had one year in Group B rallying to make its mark. Kalle Grundel, one of Ford’s factory drivers, managed third place on the 1986 Rally of Sweden, which turned out to be the car’s best result that season. The car’s next outing on the Rally de Portugal saw it involved in a tragic incident that took the lives of three spectators and, with hindsight, that proved to be the 'straw that broke the camel's back' in terms of Group B rallying with the category ceasing to exist at the end of the season. The RS200 continued to compete in rallycross events at National and local level and, like the Metro 6R4, proved popular being relatively cost-effective and easy to repair.

To comply with the 'Homologation' rules, Ford were required to build 200 road-going examples, however, fast and capable they may have been but they were crudely finished and somewhat impractical to live with as a road car and with the cancellation of Group B many orders were cancelled. Justin Smith, the Ford RS200 authority, believes as few as 147 were actually sold.

The combination of its scarcity and the mystique around the whole Group B era, has resulted in the value of these cars rocketing in recent years, with prices achieved now being regularly over £250,000. They do come to market and find new homes but, one of the most significant factors in their residual value is the mileage, the lower the better, with new owners doing the same as everyone else and popping the car into their Collection and not driving it. Consequently, anyone hoping to acquire an RS200 with the intention of using it and having fun (which is what our vendor had in mind), has to spend a lot of money and risk some level of devaluation.

Our vendor's solution was to purchase a car from a leading company that specialises in the production of quality RS200 replicas (prior to buying the company!) and then invest six years and over £150,000 utilising amassed knowledge, original parts and expert contacts, plus commissioning some of the best engineers, to create what is undoubtedly the ultimate road-going RS200.

For the sake of brevity the car's build specification is listed below:

• All-new build (no donor); IVA’d and registered as an RS200 in 2023
• Registration of ‘C17 OTW’ as a nod of respect to the Ford Museum's RS200 which is ‘C117 OTW’
• Chassis design based on the original, with the same front and rear structures but with extended interior space
• Fully adjustable front and rear suspension geometry, front anti-roll bar
• All correct body panels, with sill jacking points; rear clamshell opens the correct way with gas struts
• Original radiator ducting, plus front and rear inner wheel arches
• Original RS200 front luggage box
• 5-slot tinted rear screen as original
• 550bhp+ 2.0-litre Ford Zetec custom-built engine by Torque Developments International of Grays in Essex, specification: dry sump, custom high-flow oil cooler, Arrows billet crank, PEC rods, Wossner pistons, Garret G30-660 Turbo, fabricated flowed exhaust manifold in Schedule 10, Zircotec coated turbine housing and exhaust manifold (to control temperature), Wossner pistons balanced weight, ceramic coated ported cylinder head, custom Kent Cams, adjustable cam pulleys, BDA cam cover, Life Racing F88RL ECU, selectable engine mapping (supports up to 12 maps), RS200 intercooler by Mark Brown
• AP Racing calipers front/rear, floating vented 330mm race brakes front and rear servo-assisted
• Fully adjustable, twin shocks and springs at each wheel
• 5-speed Audi gearbox, rebuilt as new, using standard Sierra Cosworth 108mm driveshafts
• Porsche gear cable conversion with short-shift
• TTV billet flywheel with TTV twin-plate race clutch
• Image RS200 split-rim 17x8 wheels with Toyo Proxes R888R tyres
• All-original RS200 interior finished in Alcantara with +40mm wider Sparco remanufactured seats finished in original trim pattern
• Front/rear cameras with Apple CarPlay/Android rear view mirror
• Dynomat noise insulation under Mercedes AMG sourced carpet
• Original RS200 steering wheel, with electric assist power steering rack, electric door mirrors, exterior door locks as original RS200, genuine Ford RS Tibbe lockset
• Full VDO instrument set on original RS200 dashboard with correct switches and column surround.

Well specified, cleverly engineered, and beautifully presented, this is a totally practical, comfortable re-creation of the RS200 that can be enjoyed regularly over the years without concern about putting miles on the clock.

We are never sure how to describe cars like this, is it an homage, tribute, replica, re-creation, resurrection, or a re-imagination? What ever suits, it's probably best thought of as the car that Ford would have built if they were redesigning the RS200 for 2025.