An RS200 seen in California in 2004.

The mid-engined RS200's engine bay and beefy rear suspension.

The Ford RS200 was a mid-engined, all-wheel-drive sports coupe sold by Ford from 1983 through 1985. The road-going RS200 was based on Ford's Group B Rally car and was designed to comply with homologation regulations, which required that a small number of road legal versions be built. Despite some rumors to the contrary, the RS200 was not based on the Escort, as were both it's predecessor and succesor. Ford RS200. ... Ford RS200. ... Ford RS200 engine bay. ... Ford RS200 engine bay. ... Four wheel drive or 4x4, is a type of four wheeled vehicle drivetrain configuration that enables all four wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously in order to provide maximum traction. ... Ford may mean a number of things: A ford is a river crossing. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Group B Ford RS200 In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A and Group B referred to two sets of regulations for competition vehicles in touring car and rally racing. ... Rally refers to competition, as in rally racing with automobiles a political rally, a march or parade e. ... The Ford Escort was a compact car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company from 1967 through 2003. ...

History

It was not based on the Ford Escort as many think, but was created fresh - the RS200 came from the cancellation of the Mk.3 Escort-based RWD RS1700T project. There were 200 units built to comply with FIA's Group B homologation rules current in 1984 to 1986 (although once counted, up to 50 were broken for spare parts, so only around 148 were ever available to sell or be used). This was quite common in the early part of the 1980s where rallying success was extremely desirable, and the sport's rules led to several such vehicles being designed solely for rallying and sold to the public. They were initially fitted with a turbocharged 1.8 L Cosworth-designed BDT-E engine putting out 250 PS (184 kW). The powertrain was quite unusual - the engine was mid-mounted, but the transmission was at the front of the car, giving a more balanced weight distribution, but meaning that the drive was then taken back to the rear wheels. Four wheel drive was selectable, and the centre differential could be locked. The car featured fully-adjustable suspension front and rear, and looks rather unusual as it features two coil-over dampers per side. The Ford Escort was a compact car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company from 1967 through 2003. ... Group B Ford RS200 In relation to motorsport governed by the FIA, Group A and Group B referred to two sets of regulations for competition vehicles in touring car and rally racing. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Turbocharger Cut-away A turbocharger is a device used in internal-combustion engines to increase the power output of the engine by increasing the mass of oxygen and fuel entering the engine. ... Cosworth Logo Cosworth is an automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958 specialising in engines for automobile racing. ... An engine is something that produces some effect from a given input. ... SHP redirects here. ... The watt (symbol: W) is the SI derived unit of power. ... Four wheel drive or 4x4, is a type of four wheeled vehicle drivetrain configuration that enables all four wheels to receive power from the engine simultaneously in order to provide maximum traction. ... A differential can mean one of several things: Differential (mathematics) Differential (mechanics) Differential signaling is used to carry high speed digital signals. ... Suspension may refer to: suspension (chemistry) suspension bridge suspension (music) suspension (vehicle) (system of shock absorbers and supports that connect a vehicle to its wheels) suspension (civil engineering) (system that connects a structure to its foundation, for example in earthquake protection) suspension (topology) suspension (body modification) suspension bondage suspension (figure...

As the sale progressed most were sold with a 250 or 300 PS (184 or 221 kW) upgrade kit. After being homologated for motorsport in 1985, the Group B was banned (due to the increasing power of the vehicles and some unfortunate incidents leading to fatalities) so there was no other sport but rallycross to race in after 1986/1987. This means that many RS200s now exist as low-mileage collector's pieces rather than functional rally tools. However, despite Ford offering a number of upgrades to make the cars more desirable to the public, they aren't really regarded as an everyday sports car to drive, and despite their rarity do not command massive prices, generally similar to those paid when new. This article is about the year. ... This article refers to the European autosport of Rallycross. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The body, a 2-door plastic composite/fiberglass unit styled by Ghia was mounted onto the unique chassis. Regulations allowed 10% of the 200 cars built to be an evolution model. A prototype "super-sports" model as such, the Evolution (called the RS200 E2) mainly for rallycross had a development of the BDT engine (the BDT-E) which was now 2137cc, and actually built by Brian Hart Ltd. This unit started at around 550 bhp (410 kW) with some reaching, unofficially, 700 to 800 bhp (520 to 600 kW). It featured uprated brakes and suspension. Bundle of fiberglass Fiberglass or fibreglass is material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. ... Ghia (Carrozzeria Ghia SpA) is one of the most famous Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firms, founded in 1921 in Turin by Giacinto Ghia (1887 - 1944). ... Prototypes or prototypical instances combine the most representative attributes of a category. ...

Many parts were taken from European Ford models of that time, to save cost. The windscreen, taillights and steering column stalks were taken from the Ford Sierra, while the switches on the center console could also be found on the Ford Fiesta. 1991 Ford Sierra 3-door in period publicity photograph -this model was not sold in the UK. The Ford Sierra was an medium-size car built by Ford in Europe between 1982 and 1993. ... The Ford Fiesta is a mid-class supermini car designed by the Ford Motor Company in Europe, and also manufactured in Brazil, Mexico, China, India and South Africa. ...

Trivia

• The 1987 Throttlebot Transformers character Searchlight transforms into a white RS200.

• The Japanese manga series Gunsmith Cats by Kenichi Sonoda features a custom built sports car called the BUFF built by the character Bean Bandit that highly resembles a Ford RS200. The similarities are likely, as the character Bean Bandit often uses Fords as personal transportation.

1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Throttlebots were Transformers toys released in 1987. ... Various Transformers toys. ... For other uses, see Manga (disambiguation). ... Gunsmith Cats is a series of manga and anime work by Kenichi Sonoda. ... Kenichi Sonoda (園田 健一 Sonoda Kenichi, born 13 December 1962) is a manga artist and anime character designer. ...

External link

• Ford RS 200 Information