Jay Leno is not the one well-known comic with a large automotive assortment. Tim Allen owns a diverse assortment, together with a uncommon 1986 Ford RS200, which he not too long ago delivered to Jay Leno’s Storage.
The RS200 is a rally homologation particular that arrived on the peak of the Group B period of the World Rally Championship (WRC).
The liberal Group B guidelines produced excessive automobiles just like the Lancia Delta S4, Peugeot 205 T16, and Audi Sport Quattro S1, however Ford pushed issues even additional. As a substitute of utilizing an current automotive as a base, the RS200 was designed from the bottom up as a race automotive, albeit one that may be offered to the general public in restricted numbers for homologation functions.
The outcome was a compact mid-engine two-seater powered by a Cosworth-developed 1.8-liter turbo-4. The road-going model produced 250 hp, however output was elevated for racing variations. The ability is shipped to all 4 wheels regardless.
The RS200’s WRC profession was quick and tragic. Launched for the 1986 season, one automotive crashed at that yr’s Rally of Portugal, killing a number of spectators. That crash, together with the deaths of driver Henri Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto in a Delta S4 later that yr on the Tour de Corse, introduced an finish to Group B rallying.
Ford was left with 250 automobiles that could not be used for his or her authentic goal. Some have been later utilized in different racing classes, together with rallycross, and a few ended up with collectors like Tim Allen.
In contrast to different rally-based specials, such because the Subaru WRX and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Ford by no means developed a really civilized model of the RS200. So whereas it may be pushed on public roads, it is nonetheless very a lot a race automotive—one in contrast to anything Ford has ever constructed.
