Ford RS200 – 1986 – Group B
Current owner : Terry Maynard
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Among the cognoscenti of rallying, those who know their rally cars, the Ford RS200 is considered as the best of the Group B designs that appeared in 1985/86. Like many of this exotic breed, it was delayed by the fact that big companies found it harder than they thought to produce 200 unique cars with things like 4-wheel drive and turbocharging. The reason why the RS200 is so admired rests with its design that featured a front mounted gearbox complete with front and centre differentials. This required two propeller shafts but achieved a remarkably balanced car with excellent handling. Also, unlike most the manufacturers homologating Group B cars at the time, Ford decided not to produce a simultaneous evolution so the car never appeared on a World rally in its evolution form. That variant only appeared in RS200s used later in rallycross. Still even in basic form, the 1.8 litre, 16-valve turbocharged engine produced some 420 bhp.
The RS200 came very late to the World rally scene and made its debut only on the 1986 Swedish Rally where Kalle Grundel took it to a steady third place that turned out to be its best result in the WRC. However, it thrived on both the Belgian and British national rally series where Robert Droogmans and Mark Lovell respectively collected their titles and was of course successful later in European rallycross.
Mark Lovell competed on the 1986 RAC Rally as British Champion but his luck was not so good as his RS200 caught fire and burnt out completely in a Scottish Forest. This car of Terry Maynard’s was Ford’s own rally specification car used for demonstrations and dealer evenings. As a Ford competitor of many years – Terry Maynard was British Rallycross Champion in 1993 with a Ford Escort RS Cosworth – when he acquired this RS200, Terry decided to recreate Lovell’s car and it is now giving something in excess of 500 bhp. It is a regular favourite at Rally Shows and Slowly Sideways events.
Technical :-
Engine : four-cylinder, in-line, longitudinally mounted in the middle of the car, twin overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, 475 bhp, 1,803cc
Induction : Ford electronic fuel injection, Garrett turbocharger
Body : 2-door composite and aluminium monocoque with tubular steel
extensions front and rear, fibreglass doors and body panels
Suspension Front : double wishbones, twin coil springs and telescopic dampers, and anti-roll bar
Suspension Rear : double wishbones, twin coil springs and telescopic dampers, and anti-roll bar
Transmission : twin plate clutch, five speed gearbox mounted at the front with the centre differential and driving all four wheels
Weight : 1,080 kg
