What's an RS200?

[dylancox]

http://j-spec.com.au/featured/1986-F...200-15710.html

What sort of Ford is this? I've never seen anything like it. Interior looks like its made of lego, has micky mouse headlights and no butt. 1,800cc turbo 4WD. Its worth apparently over 282K?!

[Mechan1k]

Literally produced for Rally only ... light as anything ... and quick. Rare as well.

[nstg8a]

its the holy grail of rally cars is what it is...

[BradZ]

Certainly odd, well i know RS stands for Rally Sport, which was branded on the old Mk1 and 2 Escorts, but they were RS1800 and RS2000.
Its the same year as the XF Falcon, and the interior does remind me of it quite a bit. Very odd handbrake location!

[Kryton]

Dunno but for the price, that thing wouldnt even be on the list of things to do with that amount of money.

[jpd80]

It's a unique mid engined 4WD Group B rally car and has nothing in common with the Escort platform of the time.
It's only about 1,000 Kg, so you can imagine it goes like stink.....

[Mechan1k]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2hDR...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBz6B...eature=related

[BradZ]

Never said it shared a platform with the Escorts.
Just said that thats where the RS came from.

[dylancox]

Just did a little google search on it..

Max power 450 PS (331 kW; 444 hp) at 8,000 rpm
Max torque 361 lb·ft (489 N·m) at 5,500 rpm

23 psi out of 1.8L!1 Surely it would only hold together for a few runs..

True mph Time (sec)
30 1.2
40 1.8
50 2.2
60 2.8
70 3.8
80 4.8
90 5.9
100 7.3
110 8.7

11.4 second quarters.

Wish I had some 280K to play with. The look on a HSV/Wrx/Ferrari driver when you and your micky mouse looking vehicle have reached the next suburb just as they've left the set of lights would be priceless.

[Mechan1k]

And to think ... they were the factory figures from the early-mid 80s as well .... is astonishing.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by BradZ

Never said it shared a platform with the Escorts.

Never said you did, I was responding to to the OP and due to a very
slow connection, a lot of you had jumped in front by the time I posted.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

And to think ... they were the factory figures from the early-mid 80s as well .... is astonishing.

It is unreal, I would think it could keep a veyron honest up to around 200kph...that's all it would really need to reach during a rally.

I'll say it, that's better value than a P3.

[Rev28K]

The.REAL STIG (who has balls of steel) was still running a tweaked one in the open class at Pikes Peak a few years ago
http://www.mach2racing.com/index2.htm

His RS200 EVO (drool) road car is also up for grabs -
http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/l...jectID=4554157

My memory tells me that their windscreens were from a Sierra

[ebxr8240]

I have said to myself ...
If I ever win lotto ...
I would buy one of these early rally cars...
Trouble is the early Escorts warn't thought of anything special and
most where scrapped and new cars built for each rally as the bodies where
fairly stuffed after each event..
As back then they where cars with roll cages in...
Who cares I'd have one...

[2011G6E]

It's something that should be in every true Ford fanatics lottery garage in the corner marked "surprise packages"...
Things like an RS200, a Sierra Cosworth, escort RS1800, an English Ford Escort RS Turbo, Lotus Cortina...stuff like that...of course the RS200 may require a substantial Lotto win to purchase one...

[stang65]

It was fastest production car to 100k's or something .

[mrghia]

these were available as road cars as well weren't they?

[stang65]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_RS200
Ford RS200
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ford RS200 Ford RS200
Manufacturer Ford Motor Company
Production 1984–1986
Predecessor MKII Escort RS2000
Successor MKV Escort Cosworth
Class Sports car
Body style 2-door coupé
Layout Mid-engined four-wheel drive
Engine 1.8 L (110 CID) Straight-4
2.1 L Straight-4

The Ford RS200 is a mid-engined, four-wheel drive sports car produced by Ford from 1984 to 1986. The road-going RS200 was based on Ford's Group B rally car and was designed to comply with FIA homologation regulations, which required 200 road legal versions be built. Despite some rumours to the contrary, the RS200 was not based on the European version of the Escort, as were both its predecessor and successor. It was first displayed to the public at the Belfast Motor Show.
Contents
[hide]

1 History
2 Production
3 Specification* (Group B Rally car)
3.1 Engine
3.2 Transmission
3.3 Suspension
3.4 Steering
3.5 Brakes
3.6 Wheels
3.7 Dimensions and weights
3.8 Performance
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Following the introduction of the MKIII Escort in 1980, Ford Motorsport set about development of rear-wheel-drive, turbocharged variant of the vehicle that could be entered into competition in Group B rally racing, and dubbed the new vehicle the Escort RS 1700T. A problem-filled development led Ford to abandon the project in frustration in 1983, leaving them without a new vehicle to enter into Group B. Not wanting to abandon Group B or simply "write off" the cost of developing the failed 1700T, executives decided to make use of the lessons learned developing that vehicle in preparing a new, purpose-built rally car. In addition, Ford executives became adamant that the new vehicle feature four-wheel-drive, an addition they felt would be necessary to allow it the ability to compete properly with four-wheel-drive models from Peugeot and Audi.
RS200 at the Race Retro 2008.

The new vehicle was a unique design, featuring a plastic/fiberglass composite body designed by Ghia, a mid-mounted engine and four-wheel drive. The cars were built on behalf of Ford by another company well known for its expertise in producing fibreglass bodies - Reliant. To aid weight distribution, designers mounted the transmission at the front of the car, but this required that power from the mid mounted engine go first up to the front wheels and then be run back again to the rear, creating a complex drive train setup. The chassis was designed by former Formula One designer Tony Southgate, and Ford's John Wheeler, a former F1 engineer, aided in early development. A double wishbone suspension setup with twin dampers on all four wheels aided handling and helped give the car what was often regarded as being the best balanced platform of any of the RS200's contemporary competitors. Such was the rush to complete the RS200, the Ford parts bin was extensively raided - the front windscreen and rear lights were identical to those of the early Sierra, for example, while the side windows were cut-down Sierra items.
The mid-engined RS200's engine bay and rear suspension.

Power came from a 1.8 litre, single turbocharged Ford/Cosworth "BDT" engine producing 250 horsepower (190 kW) in road-going trim, and between 350 and 450 horsepower (340 kW) in racing trim; upgrade kits were available for road-going versions to boost power output to over 300 horsepower (220 kW). Although the RS had the balance and poise necessary to be competitive, its power to weight ratio was poor by comparison, and its engine produced notorious low-RPM lag, making it difficult to drive and ultimately less competitive. Factory driver Kalle Grundel's third place finish at the 1986 WRC Rally of Sweden represented the vehicle's best-ever finish in Group B rallying competition, although the model did see limited success outside of the ultra-competitive Group B class. However, only one event later, at Rally Portugal, a Ford RS200 was involved in one of the most dramatic accidents in WRC history, claiming the lives of 3 spectators and injuring many others.[1] Another Ford RS200 was crashed by Swiss Formula One driver Marc Surer against a tree during the 1986 Hessen-Rallye in Germany, killing his co-pilot and friend Michel Wyder instantly.
RS200 and Audi Quattro S1 competing in rallycross.

The accident at Rally Portugal set off a chain reaction and the RS200 became obsolete after only one full year of competition as the FIA, the governing board, which at the time controlled WRC rally racing, abolished Group B after the 1986 season. For 1987, Ford had planned to introduce an "Evolution" variant of the RS200, featuring a development of the BDT engine (called BDT-E) displacing 2137 cc, developed by Briton Brian Hart. Power figures for the engine vary quite a bit from source to source, but output claims range from as "little" as 550 horsepower (410 kW) to as high as 815 horsepower (608 kW); it has been said that the most powerful Evolution models can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) in just over 2 seconds, depending on gearing. Upgraded brakes and suspension components were part of the package as well. The ban on Group B racing effectively forced the E2 model into stillbirth; however, more than one dozen of them were successfully run from August 1986 till October 1992 in the FIA European Championships for Rallycross Drivers events all over Europe, and Norwegian Martin Schanche claimed the 1991 European Rallycross title with a Ford RS200 E2 that produced over 650 bhp (480 kW).
Ford RS200 at The Spirit of Rally 2005.

One RS200 found its way in circuit racing originated as a road car; it was converted to IMSA GTO specification powered by a 750+ BHP 2.0 litre turbo BDTE Cosworth Evolution engine.[2] Competing against the numerous factory backed teams such as Mazda, Mercury and Nissan, with their newly built spaceframe specials, despite being a privateer, the car never achieved any real success to be a serious contender[3][4][5] and was kept by the original owner. A parts car was built in England and later used to compete in the Unlimited category at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, where it was driven by Swede Stig Blomqvist in 2001, 2002 and 2004 [6] and in 2009 by former British Rallycross Champion Mark Rennison.
[edit] Production
A blue production RS200.

FIA's homologation rules for Group B cars required the construction of at least 200 road-legal RS200s, and Ford complied, building these 200 vehicles with spare parts for another 20+ units put aside for the racing teams. Those chassis and spare parts were later also used to build a couple of non-genuine, so-called bitsa cars.

A total of 24 of the 200 original cars were reportedly later converted to the so-called "Evolution" models, mostly marked by their owners as "E" or "E2" types. Ford's first intention was to mark the FIA-required 20 "Evo" cars as series numbers 201 to 220 but as this was actually not necessary according to the FIA rules they later kept their original series numbers (e.g. 201 = 012, 202 = 146, 203 = 174 etcetera).

The original bodywork tooling for the Ford RS200 was latterly bought by Banham Conversions, who used it to make a kit car version based on the Austin Maestro. Due to being a basic rebody of the Maestro, the Austin-Rover engine ancillaries are actually to be found at the front of the vehicle.
[edit] Specification* (Group B Rally car)
RS200 driven at the 2006 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
The rear of the RS200.

Ford RS200 at Goodwood
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
[edit] Engine

Longitudinally mounted, mid-ship, four-wheel drive
Head/block aluminium alloy/aluminium alloy
4 cylinders in line, Nikasil dry liners
5 main bearings. Water cooled, electric fan
Bore 86.0 millimetres (3.39 in)
stroke 77.6 millimetres (3.06 in)
capacity 1803 cc (110 CID)
Valve gear Dual Overhead Cams, 4 valves per cylinder, toothed belt camshaft drive

Compression ratio 7.2:1. Bosch Motronic engine management system and fuel injection. Garrett T3 turbocharger/boost pressure 23 psi (1.6 bar).

Max power 450 PS (331 kW; 444 hp) at 8,000 rpm
Max torque 361 lb·ft (489 N·m) at 5,500 rpm

[edit] Transmission

5-speed manual, AP twin plate paddle clutch with cerrametallic linings.

Gear Ratio mph/1000 rpm
Top 1.14 13.26
4th 1.36 10.90
3rd 1.68 8.88
2nd 2.14 7.08
1st 3.23 4.72

Final drive: Spiral bevel, ratio 4.375 to transfer ratio of 1.15
[edit] Suspension

Front, independent, double wishbones, twin coil springs and telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar.
Rear, independent, double wishbones, twin coil springs and telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar, adjustable toe control link.

[edit] Steering

Rack and pinion, a small quantity of cars also had hydraulic power assistance. Steering wheel diameter 14 in, 1.8 turns lock-to-lock,

[edit] Brakes

Dual circuits, split front/rear. Front 11.8 in (300 mm) diameter ventilated discs. Rear 11.8 in (300 mm) diameter ventilated discs, no vacuum servo. Handbrake, mechanical fly-off and hydraulic centre lever acting on separate, mechanically operated rear calipers.
[edit] Wheels

Ford magnesium alloy, 6–8 in rims (8¾ in and 11 in option for racing tyres). Tyre dependent on conditions (Pirelli Monte Carlo intermediates 245/40 16 on test car), 16" in diameter, pressures dependent on tyres used.
[edit] Dimensions and weights

Length: 157.5 in (4,000 mm)
Width: 69.0 in (1,750 mm)
Height: variable
Wheelbase: 99.6 in (2,530 mm)
Track (Front/Rear): 59.1/58.9 in (1502/1497 mm)
Weight: 2,315 pounds (1,050 kg)

[edit] Performance

For a standard production car, the fastest road-tested acceleration reported at the time occurred in 1993, when a Ford RS200 Evolution went from zero to 26.8 m/s (60 mph) in 3.275 seconds. Two separate RS200s have both reported 0–100 km/h times of 2.1 seconds.[citation needed]

Top speeds:
Gear mph km/h rpm
Top 118 190 8,900
4th 97 156 8,900
3rd 79 127 8,900
2nd 63 101 8,900
1st 42 68 8,900

Acceleration from rest:
True mph Time (sec)
30 1.2
40 1.8
50 2.2
60 2.8
70 3.8
80 4.8
90 5.9
100 7.3
110 8.7

Standing 1/4-mile: 11.4 sec, 115 mph (185 km/h).

Standing km: N/A

Acceleration (s):
mph Top 4th 3rd 2nd
10-30 - - - -
20-40 - - - -
30-50 - - 2.2 1.2
40-60 - 2.3 1.0 1.1
50-70 2.2 1.4 - -
60-80 1.6 1.5 - -
70-90 1.7 1.6 - -
80-100 2.0 - - -
90-110 2.4 - - -


This car was quick even by today's standard.

[Gman_86_xr6]

What's an RS200?

One of the fastest road cars ever built, 0-100 in under 3 seconds, from something built over 20 years ago. A car that could take on and conquer every suprecar on the road today.

200 road going cars were built in order for it to meet homologation regulations for Group B rallys.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by BradZ

Certainly odd, well i know RS stands for Rally Sport, which was branded on the old Mk1 and 2 Escorts, but they were RS1800 and RS2000.
Its the same year as the XF Falcon, and the interior does remind me of it quite a bit. Very odd handbrake location!

Rallye Sport, sorry to be picky
Grouse car indeed

[COB285]

... and deadly too in road car form.

I'm surprised you guys hadn't heard of it. I had a Matchbox car of it was I was 12 and was always interested, but thought it was ugly. Always had rathered a Sierra RS500 though!

[MO]

Now that would be a fun car.
Did anyone pickup on the name on the shed.

[Windsor220]

I remember back in the day seeing this car listed as the fastest accelerating car in the world in the guinness world records. I always thought it was some big supercar and was surprised when I saw it.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by MO

Did anyone pickup on the name on the shed.

Probably some old wannabe racing driver

Oh, I found this scary photo as well..... http://www.qtcc.org.au/memberscars.php?mc=1&im=11&gb=y

[MO]

Seems we're the only ones to remember Ron,now thats scary just like that photo.
I did'nt know that Allan Moffat ran a Torana.
Now something a bit scarier do you remember 'The Captain'.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by COB285

... and deadly too in road car form.

I'm surprised you guys hadn't heard of it. I had a Matchbox car of it was I was 12 and was always interested, but thought it was ugly. Always had rathered a Sierra RS500 though!

Same here i love the Sierra RS500 the RS200 would be welcome though

[RSgerry]

if i remember correctly, Ford UK were having trouble shifting at the time and they were throwing them out at 17,000 pounds before you haggled. unbelievable performance, but all the Group B rally cars were. at the time, they were accelerating and braking on dirt as fast as an F1 car was managing on teh track. after the deaths of a couple of drivers and spectators, the FIA pulled the pin on the class. The RS200 was intorudced just before the decision so never got the development the others got...Audis, Lancias and the like. All the Group B cars were animals.

Have a look for an MG 6 R4 if you want a laugh...a Mini Metro with a mid mounted V6.

[Rev28K]

Originally Posted by MO

Now something a bit scarier do you remember 'The Captain'.

I thought his real name was NGK spark plugs

[wrongwaynorris]

Originally Posted by mrghia

these were available as road cars as well weren't they?

The Essex police used them as specialist pursuit cars .

[wrongwaynorris]

Originally Posted by MO

Seems we're the only ones to remember Ron,now thats scary just like that photo.
I did'nt know that Allan Moffat ran a Torana.
Now something a bit scarier do you remember 'The Captain'.

The said car in action at Amarro Park.

http://s42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...1.jpg&newest=1