VIN: the works Ford RS200 chassis 065
History of chassis 065
Chassis 065 was one of two works RS200s prepared for the 1986 Acropolis Rally which took place between June 2nd and 4th.
Ford registered chassis 065 in May, at which point it was issued licence plate B200 AYD. The car was allocated to Stig Blomqvist and Bruno Berglund to drive in Greece. Team-mates Kalle Grundel and Benny Melander were entered in chassis 064.
The Acropolis was Ford’s third WRC appearance of 1986. Blomqvist had finished third on the RS200’s World Championship debut in Sweden, but both works cars were then withdrawn mid-way through Rally Portugal after a privateer RS200 crashed into the crowd and killed four spectators.
Since then, Lancia’s Henri Toivonen and his co-driver, Sergio Cresto, had died in a fatal accident on the Tour de Corse.
Within days of the Corsican tragedy, the FIA announced Group B cars would be banned from the 1987 World Championship.
The two brand new RS200s arrived for the Acropolis with bigger radiators, revised roof intake ducts, improved seals on the oil lines to reduce the risk of leaks onto hot turbos, new forged steering arms and an uprated fire system.
Unfortunately, more bad news had arrived three days before the Acropolis kicked off when Marc Surer’s co-driver, Michel Wyder, was killed in a fiery RS200 crash in Germany.
Nevertheless, Ford decided to go ahead with the Greek event.
Blomqvist was fourth overnight on day one in 065. Grundel was second in the sister car.
However, the Ford challenge collapsed on day two when both cars retired on consecutive stages. Grundel was in the lead when a mechanic accidentally sheered off two wheel nuts and a new hub assembly could not be fitted within the 30 minute time limit.
On the following stage, Blomqvist got stuck in a ditch and 065 was out of the event.
Shortly after the Acropolis Rally, Ford announced they were to abandon the RS200 project.
The model would make one final outing at the season-ending RAC Rally held from November 16th to 19th.
Although Ford had switched focus to the 1987 Group A Sierra, four works RS200s arrived for the RAC event complete with a couple of updates. Most notably, 450bhp was now on tap thanks to revised cam profiles which also improved torque. Other changes saw the oil coolers removed and smaller fuel tanks fitted.
Blomqvist was fastest on stage one in 065, but on stage two, he went off and managed to inflict severe damage to the car. The chassis was bent and the wheels were out of alignment by some distance.
While the team spent the rest of the day trying to rebuild it, the job of keeping 065 on the road became increasingly difficult. When the rear diff mountings broke and the turbo subsequently blew, Blomqvist withdrew from sixth position after 22 stages.
Only one of the RS200s finished the event, that of Grundel / Melander in fifth.
After the RAC Rally, chassis 065 was rebuilt and sold to Stig Blomqvist.
It returned to the UK a few years later and has since been through the hands of several private collectors.
Notable History
Ford Motor Company
05/1986 registered B200 AYD
02/06/1986 WRC Acropolis Rally (S. Blomqvist / B. Berglund) DNF (#2)
16/11/1986 WRC RAC Rally (S. Blomqvist / B. Berglund) DNF (#2)
Sold to Stig Blomqvist, Sweden
Text copyright: Supercar Nostalgia
Photo copyright: unattributed
