One to Buy: 1 of 24 built 1986 Ford RS200 Evolution
/
Of the 200 Ford RS200s built for Group B homologation, just 152 were either delivered to customers or retained by Ford with 24 of these converted to Evolution trim. Ford dismantled the remainder of their slow-selling model to ensure sufficient parts supply for owners.
The FIA’s Group B Evolution rule permitted manufacturers to create a further uprated iteration of the base car from the date of initial homologation and every twelve months thereafter so long as at least 20 such examples were completed each time.
Disappointingly, Ford never actually took the RS200 Evolution into competition because, following a series of competitor and spectator fatalities, in May 1986 (by which time the RS200 had appeared at just two World Rally Championship events) the FIA announced no new Evolutions would be permitted to compete on safety grounds. In addition, Group B itself was to be abandoned in favour of markedly slower Group A cars for 1987.
This meant, when the RS200 Evolution was formally announced in early July of ‘86, there was never any hope of seeing it compete in the WRC. Instead, the Evolution’s specially developed BDT-E engine became the ultimate option for RS200 buyers, some of whom did use their cars for Rallycross where the model was permitted to compete.
On August 18th, one of those fabled RS200 Evolutions will be going under the hammer with RM Sotheby’s at their Monterey sale.
Chassis 084 is understood to have been exported to the US via Bob Sutherland and was sold to its first private owner in 1989 who retained it for the next 28 years. For most of that time, the car was displayed at The Auto Collections museum housed in The Imperial Palace Hotel, Las Vegas.
Since the museum closed in 2017, chassis 084 has resided with two custodians. It is being offered in superb condition throughout having reputedly only covered around 500km from new (the OEM Terraspeed digital speedometer lacks provision for an odometer).
For more information visit the RM Sotheby’s website at: https://rmsothebys.com/
