The rally car that was born from a failed project

Sport & Games · Published 9 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In 1983, Ford abandoned a troubled turbocharged Escort project. Rather than scrap the investment, they pivoted, using those hard-won lessons to build a purpose-built, mid-engined, all-wheel-drive beast. The result was the RS200, a car so balanced it became a legend of the dangerous Group B era.

The RS200 was a direct response to Ford's failure to develop the Escort RS 1700T. After internal apathy and technical hurdles stalled the 1700T project, executives decided to build a unique vehicle from scratch to compete with all-wheel-drive rivals from Audi and Peugeot. To meet FIA homologation rules, Ford contracted the Reliant Motor Company to produce 200 road-going units between 1984 and 1986.

The car's engineering was a complex mix of bespoke design and 'parts-bin' raiding. While it featured a unique Ghia-designed plastic-fiberglass composite body and a chassis by former F1 designer Tony Southgate, it utilized standard Sierra components like the windscreen, rear lights, and doors to save costs. A notable mechanical quirk was the transmission placement: to aid weight distribution, it was mounted at the front, requiring power from the mid-mounted engine to travel forward to the front wheels before being sent back to the rear.

Despite its poise, the RS200 struggled with a poor power-to-weight ratio and notorious low-RPM lag from its 1.8L Ford-Cosworth 'BDT' engine. The highest achievement reached by the car occurred during the 1986 WRC Rally of Sweden, where it secured third place. However, its legacy was forever shadowed by a 1986 accident at the Rally de Portugal that killed three spectators, leading the FIA to abolish the Group B class just one year later. Today, the car is a high-value collector's item, with Evolution models fetching over $550,000 at auction.

The car's evolution continued even after the Group B ban. Ford produced 'Evolution' models featuring a 2.1L BDT-E engine capable of up to 815 hp, which were later used in European rallycross. A unique 'S' version was also proposed by a Canadian entrepreneur, though it never received official Ford authorization.

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