<< Prev Page 2 of 2 Although supremely balanced, the RS200's main weakness was the relatively high weight. To address this, Ford had an evolution version in the works for the 1987 season. This featured a larger 2.1-litre BDT-E, which was built with the help of F1 engine wizard Brian Hart and produced around 580hp. Despite the increase in engine displacement, the RS200 Evo was still in the same weight bracket as before, so this represented a pure gain in performance. In addition to the larger engine, a quick-shift gearbox was being built for the Evo by Hewland. Known as the FGB, it featured a hugely sophisticated twin-clutch setup for super quick shifts.
Sadly, the RS200 Evo never saw action in the World Rally Championship as Group B was cancelled after the 1986 season. The main reason was a series of deadly accidents during the 1986 season. Among them was one that involved an RS200 in the Rally Portugal, which killed three spectators and injured many more. This prompted the governing body to not only ban Group B cars but also scratch the newly proposed Group S class for which Ford already had a car under development.
While the RS200 was not eligible to run at the top level, many of the cars saw action in anything from rally cross to the Pikes Peak Hillclimb. One RS200 was also converted to run in the IMSA GTO series. This featured a bespoke body, revised suspension geometry and a further tuned BDT-E that produced in excess of 750 bhp. At 3.07 seconds, the RS200 Evo also held the 0-100 km/h acceleration record for twelve years.
Although parts were made for 200 examples and a further 20 Evo RS200s, it is believed that fewer were ultimately completed. It is estimated that 24 cars were built to the ultimate Evo specification. For each of these, one of the existing 200 chassis was used.
The RS200 remains as one of the most sophisticated Group B cars built and in Evo spec looked set to be one of the front-running machines during the 1987 season. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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Although supremely balanced, the RS200's main weakness was the relatively high weight. To address this, Ford had an evolution version in the works for the 1987 season. This featured a larger 2.1-litre BDT-E, which was built with the help of F1 engine wizard Brian Hart and produced around 580hp. Despite the increase in engine displacement, the RS200 Evo was still in the same weight bracket as before, so this represented a pure gain in performance. In addition to the larger engine, a quick-shift gearbox was being built for the Evo by Hewland. Known as the FGB, it featured a hugely sophisticated twin-clutch setup for super quick shifts.