Today’s performance cars have engaged in an output war, trying to outdo each other with more and more horsepower. How does a 570HP Ferrari 458 Italia sound to you? Perhaps you would be more content with Lamborghini’s 700HP Aventador? You may even prefer something less conspicuous, more luxurious and possibly faster like the Brabus 800 Coupe.
Now, if you want something that is not only faster, but even more exclusive than the latest batch of supercars, you can buy one for just a fraction of the price. If you’re badge conscious, forget about it. But if you’re in it for the performance, you might consider something a little bit older from a company that built the Escort.
Yes, we are talking about Ford. The car in question is the RS200 homologation special – a model created just for the Group B World Rally Championship, which mandated a 200 unit annual production run.
Initially introduced by FIA in 1982, the Group B class had very lax rules in order to draw more manufacturers into competition. Well, the plan worked and the most extraordinary rally cars the world would ever see were created.
Ford’s entry was the RS200. Unveiled at the 1994 Belfast Motor Show, it was born out of the ashes of the stillborn Escort 1700RS prototype. Only this time, the Blue Oval’s engineers decided to abandon any Escort connection and create a composite-bodied, mid-engined, four-wheel drive purebred rally car.
Initially, the 200 production cars were rated by Ford at 247HP, but upgrade kits upped the output of the 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder to well over 300HP.
Outgunned by rivals such as Peugeot’s 205 T16, Ford decided to take advantage of the rule that allowed the construction of one evolution version per season, provided that 20 production cars were also made.
As a result, it developed the 2.1-liter 600HP RS200 Evolution that was built for the 1987 season in just 24 pieces. However, at the end of 1986 FIA, decided to ban Group B cars after many accidents that resulted in the death of three spectators during the Rally of Portugal as well as Lancia’s driver Henri Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto in Corsica.
Nevertheless, despite never having the chance to tackle a rally stage, one of the 24 RS200 Evolutions that can accelerate from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in just 3.1 seconds, or faster than a McLaren F1 or a Ferrari Enzo, is up for sale on eBay.
The truly amazing thing is that said car, which is in perfect operating condition and located in Houston, Texas, has only 192 miles (311 km) on its odometer. It wasn’t street-legal at the time it was imported in the U.S., but its status may have changed now that it is 25 years old -that’s something you can check with the DMV.
At the time the post was written, the reserve price set by the car’s owner had not been met, with the highest bidder offering US$110,300 so far. If you’re interested, you have until the end of the day to place your bid.
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