The Ford RS200

Did you know that the three-times Formula 1 World Champion Jackie Stewart had a major hand in developing Ford’s Group B thoroughbred, the RS200? Or that its chassis was the work of the accomplished Formula 1 designer Tony Southgate?

The lesser-known facts go some way to explain just how much effort and expense Ford invested (£10m, in case you were wondering) in the mid-engined car with which it wanted to write the next chapter of its World Rally Championship legacy.

Alas, the writing was already on the wall for Group B by the time the RS200 hit the special stages and the Ford’s great potential was sadly curtailed. Everyone knew that had it been afforded the chance, the RS200 – in its 700HP-plus Evolution guise – would have wiped the floor with everyone. It was glorious Group B’s logical next step.

If the frenzy this car caused when we recently posted some photos of its on social media is anything to go by, the road-going Ford RS200 is a car that resonates with a great number of people. Okay, so it was a pussycat in comparison to the rally car, but that doesn’t mean it was a pussycat full stop.

Quite the contrary, in fact – this was a lightweight mid-engined four-wheel-drive sports car designed from the ground up as a rally winner and whose turbocharged BDT engine produced an ample 250HP, after all. Miraculously, the RS200 also errs on the right side of useable, unlike the majority of its Group B homologation counterparts.

Ford Motorsport in Boreham was supposed to build 200 RS200s in order to homologate the rally version, though the authority on the model Justin Smith reckons that as few as 147 were actually sold, 90 of which were left-hand drive.

This Ford RS200

The fantastic RS200 we were recently able to source for a client is chassis number 079, a right-hand-drive example finished in Diamond White and fitted with black Recaro bucket seats. It was originally registered to the Ford Motor Company Ltd. in September of 1988, and acquired by its first owner, one William ‘Bill’ Errol Camplisson from Chelmsford, the following month.

Camplisson retained this RS200 until 2004, before which he covered a mere 2,370km. Chassis 079 passed through the hands of just two further owners in the next 14 years. In March of 2018, the immaculate car was purchased by the man from whose possession we were able to prise it. With fewer than 4,500km reading on the odometer and an entirely documented and traceable history solely in the United Kingdom, this highly original car certainly ranks among the most attractive of the plethora of RS200s we’ve had the privilege of handling.

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