| Ford
RS200 The RS200 was a pure
two seater, mid-engined, four wheel drive car
designed for Group B rally competition to compete
with Rover's 6R4 and Lancia's 037. The car was
conceived in 1983 as a collaboration between Ford
and Reliant. It turned out to be a very expensive
one for Ford, who invested over 10 million pounds
in producing the RS200. The vehicle shell was
designed by Ghia in Italy, working closely with
the Ford motorsport design team. The chassis was
designed by former Formula One designer Tony
Southgate. The car was constructed using a steel
platform with a monocoque centre section bonded
and riveted onto it. Three tubular steel
subframes were bolted onto the platform forming a
chassis.
Although as the name suggests 200 cars were to
be produced, it is thought that far fewer (about
144) actually left the Reliant production line at
Shonstone. Of the cars produced 90 were road
cars, 29 rally cars and 24 were of evolution
spec, and one was a special GTO version.
The road cars were de-tuned for sale to the
public and trimmed by Tickford to provide
increased levels of comfort. These cars featured
Sparco seats in red or black, with a leather
trimmed XR3i steering wheel and a full stereo
system. The road car also had fitted carpets and
door inserts. Left and right hand drive cars were
produced. The engine was based on the RS1700T,
which was still in development at the time. The 1.8
litre 16 valve DOHC engine was longitudinally
mounted at the rear of the car and coupled with a
hybrid TO3/4 Garrett turbo developed 250bhp.
Somewhat less than the rally version, which
developed 380-450bhp. Top speed was still 142mph
and the 0-60 time was about 5.2 seconds. The RS200
had a list price of £50,000.
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