FORD RS200: A LEGACY IN RALLY RACING HISTORY

Get RS200 front end. All images © Meadowburn Motors Ltd.Despite its short-lived journey, the Ford RS200 quickly became a legend in rallying. Even though it was banned almost immediately, this car’s design was well ahead of its time – and it still is. It didn’t take fans long to notice the RS200’s neo-futuristic style, thanks to its angular lines, shiny black polyester body, and wide, curved rear lights. The interior followed suit, with a center console inspired by jet fighters. The RS200 was well-equipped to dominate the circuit, featuring a 1.8-liter turbocharged engine adopted from the Ford Sierra RSi. This powerful engine offered 300 horsepower, had its turbo and intercooler positioned sideways, and was housed in an aluminium/magnesium radiator. When it came to suspension, the car featured McPherson struts at the front and a semi-trailing arm with coil-over damper at the rear. For extra safety and cornering, the RS200’s body was made of Kevlar-reinforced ballistic polyester and glass fibre.

THE THRILL AND TRAGEDY OF GROUP B RALLYING

With its skittering, sliding rally cars dodging trees by fractions of inches, it’s one of the most compelling motorsports around. But behind every car that hits the gravel is a story of innovation, success and sometimes tragedy. And in the case of WRC, the Ford RS200’s story might as well serve as the defining tale of Group B rallying: a category that took itself too seriously and overpowered a sport that always needed to be a little reckless to be fun. The story of why the RS200, one of the greatest group B cars of all time, was banned from rallying is a fascinating one. It is a tale of a pioneering car, how rallying had to change to accommodate it, and the crescendo of catastrophe that led to it being banned.

GROUP B'S UNMATCHED INTENSITY AND THE EMERGENCY OF THE RS200

Group B, which started in 1982, quickly became the pinnacle of rallying showmanship. It would lure huge crowds and spur the engineering community towards ever more dramatic and, sometimes, attention-grabbing automotive achievements. Ford’s RS200 was the Blue Oval’s ultimate response to the need for greater power and technology to remain competitive in this cut-throat class. Delivering in excess of 420 horsepower in turbocharged form, the car offered a performance never experienced before. And, much like no other rally car before, it would etch its place in rally history, this time with a harsh brushstroke to its legacy – disaster.

A TRAGIC TURN AT PORTUGAL

The RS200 must have looked mighty impressive when it finished third in Sweden, but there was a grim shadow over the RS200’s career when, in Portugal in 1986, an attempt to avoid a spectator driving across the track caused a spin-off in which several people were killed and many more injured. The deaths of spectators at a rallying event cast a long, dark shadow over Group B. Racing fast cars around the same course as the spectators seemed too dangerous by far.

THE DUAL EDGES OF HIGH PERFORMANCE: HANDLING AND TURBO LAG

The RS200 demanded its drivers give it everything it had in hand, making the most of its small size and light weight to bring together sharp handling and tricky turbo lag. The sharpness of its handling was a double-edged sword: it was very agile, the result of its very good 461 kilo (1,016 lb)/1,100 kilo (2,425 lb) weight distribution. However, the chassis was so sensitive to driver inputs that it would skip away from the grip at the first signs of carelessness. Likewise, the significant lag associated with its turbocharging meant that, at the most critical point – corner entry – turbo lag could upset the car’s behaviour.

LEGACIES AND LEGENDS: THE FORD RS200'S PLACE IN RALLY RACING HISTORY

Though banned from rallying, the RS200 is still remembered with fondness and awe by rally fans and others interested in cars. Its wild concept, groundbreaking capabilities and the memorable controversies behind it have made it a legendary car, the finality of its ban a warning about the tightrope motorsport still walks between technological advancement and safety.

UNDERSTANDING THE STATUS OF THE FORD RS200 TODAY

Every year gains it more purchase as a collectible and an icon of a bygone era, a rallying car that was always more than the sum of its parts: a technological marvel, a reckless instrument of fun, a plot point in the high drama of one of rallying’s golden eras and, most of all, a symbol – of the anarchic white-knuckle power of the long-lost Group B, and the safety and performance trends that ultimately overtook it.

ABOUT STATUS

Ultimately, the position of the Ford RS200 in the history of rally racing is a mixed one: a monument to a time when technological prowess and speed were more important than safety, a warning about the dangers of pursuing what is possible, but also a tribute to innovation and the spirit of rally racing itself. For all its flaws and missteps, the RS200 will remain a talking point, and its story will never cease to capture the attention of fans and motorsport enthusiasts. Whatever happens to it, its future still seems uncertain, but its odyssey will always hold a special place in the hearts and minds of those who cherish the courage and determination of rally drivers.