The Deadly Ford That Helped End Group B Rally

Introduced in 1982, the Group B rally regulations are often heralded as a golden era for rallying. Giving rise to some of the fastest and most powerful off-road machines ever to run on 4 wheels. But rally is a dangerous sport, and there is no denying that Group B was one of the most dangerous eras in its history. Today we’re talking about one of the many iconic monsters birthed to take on the challenge; this is the story of the Ford RS200.
#racing #groupb #ford

[@YellowbirdYT]

The RS200 is one of the biggest examples of being late to a party. It's a shame took so long to bring this car into Group B as I always thought it could have been among the class leaders with a bit of work. They made the right call on building an AWD car instead of their original Escort proposal, but I find it funny that Ford went back to a RWD platform for their Group A rally car, the Sierra Cosworth RS. Well, at least until the end of its run, when they switched to the Sierra Sapphire 4X4.

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

To be fair, the Cossie wasn't really planned to be their main rally car, but it was either use their big, successful Group A race car or try to use the Turbo Escort that was pretty slow in Group A racing.

[@BOABModels]

You're right about it being late. The MG Metro 6R4 had the same problem.

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

@@BOABModels Wasn't a lack of power a big part of the problem too? I seem to recall them being turbocharged for rallycross competition.

[@tjroelsma]

I don't know about the RS200 having been able to compete against the class leaders. On raw pace it was very fast, but just like the Audi Sport Quattro S1 it was always on a knife's edge with grip. The Lancia Delta S4 and the Peugeot 205 T16 were cars that handled way better and therefore they were the class leaders. The second drawback of the RS200 was its powerband: a whole lot of nothing a low revs and then insane power at the top of the rev range. That meant it was very tricky coming out of the corners, a bit comparable to the venerable old Porsche 911 Turbo: exit the corner, give it the boot, wait, wait and suddenly spin off the road because the power kicked in all at once.

[@BOABModels]

@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 the Metro had a twin turbo V6, basically the same engine which eventually went in the XJ220. But the issue with both the MG and the Ford was they entered Group B just as it was going to be banned - they didn't realise this at the time of course.

[@Fiction_Supreme]

RS200 does not look 80s in the slightest. It has a very mid 90's shape to it. The design was ahead of it's time.

[@IainDochartaigh66]

Apart from the circular headlights, I agree

[@wils35]

Ashame their engineering is not ahead of its time.

[@MCH-23.Quintus]

Was ahead of it's time in term of ugliness.

[@jkim6200]

@@MCH-23.Quintus Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Looks great from my perspective.

[@liz8356]

And it wasn’t the ford that ruined it it was the teams themselves not making safety more of a thing and the people there

[@Eleminop]

Just imagine how crazy rally could have been if they just kept the fans off of / a safe distance from the track.

[@alexanderSydneyOz]

Quite ridiculous, isn't it? Imagine what it must have been like driving a rally car at speed, where the spectators have to step back as you approach so you can get through....

[@marcelk3847]

@@alexanderSydneyOz all those people had a deathwish

[@MrLeovdmeer]

@@marcelk3847 No they just lived life to the fullest.

[@MrZevv]

@@MrLeovdmeer Yeah... and they where lucky that you arent allowed to just drive through this idiots.

[@MrLeovdmeer]

@@MrZevv That would be something. Giving I was 13 years old back then.

[@BOABModels]

I had a white and blue Matchbox RS200 when I was a boy - it was one of my favourites as it just looked so cool and different to all the other models. Group B was banned the year before I was born though. There should be a 1/24 scale model kit of this coming out soon which I will definitely build

[@daminox]

Hot wheels also recently came out with a few 1/64 scale rs200s.

[@davebeat]

@@daminox Hot Wheels have some good stuff coming out in 2023 including a MKII Escort RS2000, a MKVI Escort RS Cosworth, and an IMSA Audi 90 which featured at the end of this video.

[@iainwalker8701]

I have one of these Matchbox cars under a painting of an RS200.

[@willtaylor6112]

Same here, I loved mine beautiful shaped car and still one of my dream cars along with Ferrari F40 and metro 6r4

[@StigDesign]

i still have mine even tho am 36 now, its has aged hehe but still cool :D it even has some spring suspension too

[@paulplack490]

So, the tragic wreck which claimed the lives of four spectators in Portugal in 1986 spelled the end of Group B, but not the end of lining the sides of rally courses with human guardrails. Got it.

[@theHardyMonster1984]

When the lawyers get involved you can throw all common sense out the window.

[@g00gleisgayerthanaids56]

Killing off group b was more about protecting the drivers from cars that are entirely too powerful for their handling characteristics and safety ratings, not so much about protecting rally spectators who definitely know the risk of standing inches away from cars on maximum attack on gravel/dirt roads.

[@MattinhoGG]

I wouldn't call the RS200 a failure, nor the 6R4... They both just arrived late. Had Group B continued they may have found success but going up against outfits that had years of experience at that level was always going to be a challenge

[@Marshal_6]

Ironic that just before WRC, GpA was allowing similar power outputs that were hailed as the deathknell of GpB

[@matiasdun6599]

Adding that we see the entire picture from a higher point. At the time those cars had cutting edge technology and engineers were designing cars that never existed before in short time for competing in a fierce championship.

[@stevemason9150]

Group A were restricted to 300 hp , group b some cars were north of 600 hp , it was the fans in some countries that just refused to stay a safe distance from the track- it was a nightmare for the drivers

[@Marshal_6]

@@stevemason9150 was it not just a "gentleman's agreement" the 300hp limit though?

[@stevemason9150]

@@Marshal_6 no, as far as i know all the cars had to run the same restrictors so there was similar performance, to keep costs down and to attract more manufacturers to the sport. There could well have been slight differences but nothing huge or it would be obvious-

[@therealmudafuka7200]

Well presented and just intricate enough to not be boring, well done. I hope to hear you talk about one of Ford's other attempts at an all out rally machine, the GT 70

[@351clevelandmodifiedmotor4]

well presented ???? sounds like a typical moaning pom, oooh the waters too wet ooooh the suns too sunny, poms quit ya moaning you sound like the pms woman of humanity

[@patbutete1722]

Ah yes the GT70....Lancia 037 eat your heart out while holding my beer!

[@ObjectivelyCorrectOpinion]

RS200 is my favorite Group B car. I just love the fact that this is the hardest car of them all. The challenge it gives to the driver, that wild handling that it provides. This is amazing.

[@jacktattis]

Delta Integrale for me

[@Berecz]

I love the Gran Turismo menu music in the end. Really gets you back to the 90's.

[@Scaley_Reptile]

It's been over 30 years, I still get sad to think how short lived this era was. I'm just glad I was born in time to see this and Prost/Senna era.

[@trolski1618]

IMHO the RS200 had big potential in wrc Group B, it has the essential mid engine, turbo, 4WD combo of the top cars but including the interesting transaxle with great weight distribution. If only gr B continued for at least for one more year the evo car could see success with the enlarged engine, more suspension travel and the other changes

[@MiguelGarcia-vj7oo]

see I've heard otherwise. a lot of critique if this car is that the underpinnings, chassis and suspension weren't that great and was a basically a parts car..........

[@posniknelb6114]

It was under developed. Never had a chance to come to fruition. It excelled in Rally cross. But it literally only had months in Rally, before becoming obsolete. So never even had a chance

[@Mark3nd]

If it had one more year for Gr B, Ferrari would've joined in thise couple of months

[@johngeren1053]

@@Mark3nd The Ferrari (288 GTO?) was for the planned GrpB road racing class in WEC that never got off the ground, not rally.

[@strayling1]

Lovely car. I worked on the EEC-IV at Dunton while the RS200 was being developed and spent a happy few hours one Sunday blowing 50 EPROMs for the homologation run. Double time on a Sunday to meet a Monday deadline :) They've probably all been replaced by now, but I'm proud to have played a small part.

[@pliashmuldba]

I remember those days, watching group B on the telly. I also remember i never felt sad about what ever would befall a rally spectator.

[@samacw]

RS200s and 6R4s were still winning rallycross into the mid 90s. And the Peugeot 205 then evolved into the 405 and finally the Citroen ZX all of which won the Paris-Dakar rally.

[@notpoliticallycorrect1303]

Having been personally responsible for the repair of DS Kara's racing car after a particularly hard shunt in the rain by the owner,who obviously can't drive, I was surprised to find that when I was unbolting the doors that the reinforcement and indeed strength of the A pillars is provided by a block of timber with wood to metal screws,the door adjustment being made by altering how many penny washers sat behind each hinge,the doors are only a fibreglass replica of the top half of a MK1 Sierra door so they are featherweight but I still didn't expect that,as for the mouldings themselves,having repaired all manner of composites over the years,auto/ marine and all manner in between,Reliant moulds were among the best requiring very little hand finishing,filling or fettling.

[@highspeedhawk]

Mark Lovell won the British rally championship with an RS200. It was a win on consistency as he didn't win any events overall that year. Marc Surer had his massive crash in the RS200 during the Hessen rally 1986. The car exploded after hitting a tree and his co-driver was killed. This showed the immense dangers of group B.

[@briangriffith3985]

Mark Lovell's car in all fairness wasnt the full hog. it was a clubman spec, so detuned compared to the works one. but it did the job, he won the championship🤷

[@loicalex]

That Surer crash was awful, truly shocking

[@aguywithayota]

​@@loicalexbut if I'm gonna go out from something other then old age, thats how I wanna go out

[@TheRUBrally]

Great video. Unfortunately portugal 86 was not the only event where a rs200 was protagonist of a deadly crash. Hessen Rally 86 was the second one.

[@davekennedy6315]

Reliant didn't only make that turd the Reliant Robin. They also made the way cooler Reliant Scimitar, a bit like a lightweight Capri, same engine and running gear but in a considerably lighter bodyshell. They were also far and away the most experienced UK company in working with fibreglass car bodies.

[@tumslucks9781]

How did Reliant go from the Robin to being adept with fibreglass? British engineering in the 80s was chaotic. British Leyland only promoted middle management if they were Freemasons even if they had no ability and we all know what happens if you promote mediocre people.

[@Charles-dz1bn]

You know, Princess Anne had one of those Scimmitar 👀

[@davekennedy6315]

@@Charles-dz1bn yes I think I faintly remember reading something about that? I think they were great cars too, practical and quick for the time. They still look cool too, at least to my eyes.

[@sharkuel]

@@tumslucks9781 wasn't the Robin fiberglass as well? I mean, that could have been the testbed they needed to improve their craft.

[@mikester1290]

What we all really need to see is an RS150, just like an RS200 but with 3 wheels, yes obviously 3 wheel drive too. The Reliant RS150.

[@NoiseBombS14]

Since we are talking about IMSA GTO and GTU, can you make a video about the sheer dominance Mazda has in IMSA for some 14 years? The Rx7’s repeated championship runs would make even what they R32 Skylines did in Australia blush

[@automobilistic]

Its definitely on the list!

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

Steve Millen would like to remind the world about his 300ZX.

[@d.d.7287]

As a ford fan from America, this is one of the coolest things ford has ever made IMO.

[@TheOneWhoBecameStrong]

Love the GT2 background music. Gran turismo is truly one of the greatest video game series ever.

[@davidpalin1790]

Lived round the corner from reliant cars and I remember seeing a Ford RS200 on the road. A cool car 🚗 😎

[@derrickstorm6976]

That weird scoop/police light bar on the roof is the coolest thing

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

Bad news, the Group S version deleted it.

[@nothinphasesme5573]

the ford RS200 and lancia delta integrale evo 2 are my 2 favorite cars from this era, nothing electrical, just man n machine at its finest.

[@martinr3167]

Integrale is Group A not Group B

[@AnthroGearhead]

@@martinr3167 S4 not ring any bells ?

[@OwkeejGamers]

@@AnthroGearhead He said Delta Integrale, That car is a Group A car. The Lancia Delta S4 is the group be car.

[@nix123ism]

My brother owned a lancia integrale 16v (non evo) in the 1990s he entered a street circuit event south of Auckland , NZ and i went out to watch, there was a RS200 that had just been imported from the UK that was entered as well, goes without saying the RS200 won, it was just insane how fast it was, it made my brothers car look pedestrian, the RS200 slowed for the corners, he was being careful, but the acceleration out of the corners was unbelievable, point and shoot kind of stuff......

[@gerasismatas]

Can’t agree, won’t agree. The car won 19 races and 32 podium finishes during it’s first and only group B year in rally. The car won many other competitions and showed a lot of promise. The portugal incident was caused by a spectator who ran in front of the car at the last moment which caused the driver to lose control. I’m very sorry for the people who died but you can’t blame the car for that situation. I wonder how that day would have ended if that spectator stayed in his place instead of trying to be a deer in the headlights?🥴 The RS200 proved to be a successful as a machine, the only failure was that it arrived late to the party.. This car is literally the definition of “unused potential”. One of top 5 group B machines IMO! Great vid

[@Frank-Thoresen]

The Norwegian Rallycross driver and owner Martin Schanche was really successful with his Ford RS 200. He even built a custom transmission. Engine had 750HP

[@briangriffith3985]

Schanche was a top engineer and driver

[@SamMassingham]

Another great car video, like alot of others are saying you do make some very entertaining and informative videos. Also the "fibreglass if youre busy" bit gave me a good chucke. Looking forward to the next one!

[@mtakala82]

Marc Surer's crash in Hessen Rally 1986, where his co-driver Wyder was killed, is also an important story to tell with the history of the car.

[@Yora21]

Weirdly enough, Group B didn't have anywhere near the accidents that the Isle of Man TT has, and that one still is going to this day, with half a dozen death every year.

[@andrewphippsphillips1455]

Cough, we don't mention the IOM TT when it comes to motorsport death, you know (this has to read in an ironically sarcastic tone of voice btw, this isn't my ACTUAL opinion). If deaths are caused by bikes, people's views are almost "Oh well, very sad, what a pity" in almost a patronising approach. But the car side of motorsport sees deaths as almost completely preventable and unnecessary. The reduction of tragedies is obviously a positive thing but those who say "this is unacceptable" doesn't realise that motorsport generally is never guaranteed to be 100% safe. There is always that risk but keeping the risk down to a minimum is good. But make a sport completely risk free & it becomes nothing more than a ride on fairground dodgems.

[@Yora21]

@@andrewphippsphillips1455 I mean, look at the fatalities in WRC since the Group B disaster. 14 dead in the 80s. 4 dead in the last 32 years. Formula 1 made similar improvements. It's just a matter of the will to improve things.

[@geoffreygoodyear3746]

I loved this car...my dad worked for ford in hinckley in the 80s i was 9 or 10 years old ..got loads of posters and magazine ect free...it was always my fave ford. 🔥🔥🔥

[@memofrf]

Thanks for the footage and video. Always had a soft spot for the RS200.

[@TeamLouieTv]

Loving the Grand Turismo Japanese Jazz Fusion 🎵

[@davekennedy6315]

I swear I've seen another RS200 crash that resulted in the death of the driver and co driver? I remember helicopter footage of the RS200 belting along, getting into a major slide at high speed on a straight and coming off the road sideways straight into a tree and then instantly bursting into flames? Am I dreaming this as it certainly didn't involve spectators?

[@davekennedy6315]

Mark Surer in 1986 was driving and actually survived but the co-driver died. The crash is so bad that I assumed that no one would survive!

[@hotel_arcadia]

That Lancia Delta crash involved no spectators but that was the one that killed the sport

[@davekennedy6315]

@@hotel_arcadia yeah I heard that was the ONE that finally tipped them over into banning it. A shame as the cars were absolutely insane and they would have only gotten crazier. Makes you wonder how far things might have gone?

[@hotel_arcadia]

@@davekennedy6315 Well, I think modern rally cars are just as, if not crazier than Group B cars... the same AWD, turbochargers, aerodynamics and whatnot

[@MaaZeus]

@@hotel_arcadia Modern rally cars are more balanced though, handling and power, thanks to modern technology. That and apparently more care is taken where the heck spectators are allowed to stand and watch.

[@stickman-1]

My dream car. It has since been I saw the first one nearly 40 years ago. RS200.

[@chuks_drafts]

I just feel like this channel is for 90s kid in their 30s or 20s that grew up in the super car era and played Gran Turismo 2 for hours after school 😂

[@bobsmoot8454]

One of Ford’s best ideas

[@jacksmith4460]

the IMSA car looked so cool

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

It's a shame they couldn't clean up the aero like the Group S RS200. Relocating the big intake from the roof probably would have helped quite a bit.

[@petermainwaringsx]

The body of the RS200 was fabricated about a mile from where I lived, by Ken Atwell, in a small garage to the west of Swansea, on the edge of the Gower Peninsular.

[@lca2206]

That Gran Turismo 2 soundtrack at 6:03 was perfectly placed. And if I recall correctly it was the soundtrack of the Japanese manufacturer’s area!

[@rayyanalikhan955]

You are by far one of the most underrated and under appreciated automotive youtubers I have ever seen. Amazingly done in a very unique way. I hope the channel succeeds.

[@mariaisabelcarrillo6315]

You forgot to talk about Marc Surer horrific crash in 1986 driving a Ford RS200 in which his copiloto Wyder was killed and burned. Big missing mate.

[@TheMrFishnDucks]

Fantastic video. I love this cars adorable derpy face 😊. Keep up the good work.

[@Ob1sdarkside]

I've vague memories of group B, mental racing. Such a good looking car, great to get it's history. Lovely vid, really enjoyed it.

[@_adomCS]

my absolute favourite car. great video

[@jpmtlhead39]

This was the Ultimate Car Motorsport Ever. Ive seen several rallys,in Portugal,and it was Mindblowing,the speed,the noise,the crowd and the Best drivers in the world,and the fastest Cars Ever made to Run in any surface... The Greasted years in Motorsport.

[@jonnywalker3208]

2:05 Clarkson haha I watched that on DvD last night! 😂 another great video buddy

[@siggy2609]

I still can't believe I saw one in real life about 2 months ago when I was riding on my favourite road. I saw a white car hauling ass in the distance and is it got closer I saw the 2 round headlights and thought "no way it can't be", then it drove past me and I looked back, and sure enough that iconic wing confirmed that it was indeed a rs200. If only I had something faster than a 125cc motorbike I'd have turned around and went after it to take some pictures😭

[@NathanMcCabe88]

I've seen one to, where abouts do you live? He was with a car club from Penrith.

[@siggy2609]

@@NathanMcCabe88I spotted it near Marsden View on the B6114. Penrith is a fair bit away so I'm not sure it was him, unless he went on a trip or something

[@NathanMcCabe88]

@@siggy2609 it'll probably be a kit car... Gosh they look cool though!!

[@jonfrank2566]

My father had an RS 200. Last one made as a road car. He had a few nice cars over the years, including a Lancia S4. But he rated the Ford the best. Chassis and balance were amazing.

[@rallycorsa1600]

Absolutely amazing drivers in the era of group B, Those cars were monsters to control. I was lucky enough to have a ride Blomquists Grp B Quattro and it was crazy, The throttle was like a 500 bhp on off switch LOL.

[@Aotearoa_Kiwi]

_Excellent video ☑ and great commentary._

[@amjrpain919]

Failed?!... It's flipping legendary! I'd prefer it to many so called "supercars" ...just say'n...

[@pbocking44]

Watched one of these in a Fast Ford race at Snetterton. I believe it was Graham Hathaway - started on the 2nd row cos had the wrong diff for qualifying. Lights went green and he drove it onto the grass to overtake the pole sitter - was 50 yards ahead by the 1st corner.

[@damian-795]

0:39 That Mk 2 escort looks utterly great

[@pb6839]

my uncle has a original group b rx7 and I've been in love with it since I was a kid even before I knew what group B was. Since it's a racecar and a rotary its really unreliable and takes a team to get started but it looks really pretty.

[@richgriffinalb]

few of these in yorkshire, seen them at the Motorist quite often. Crazy looking cars.

[@ivorgreenplant]

watched most of these cars in action at lyddden hill racetrack .. will gollop in the 6R4 metro mark rennison in the RS2000 .. great days

[@dwchester]

Radical styling in it's time. I very nearly bought one for just £16,000 back in the late 80s which was sitting in a showroom in surrey for months!

[@thorquiaperleme9478]

Playing Gran Turismo while watching your videos it's a therapy for me and you teach me a lot about racing history, I really like your content man, pls do Toyota Minolta some day. (I'm Brazilian, so If there are any gramatical error, sorry 😅)

[@nigeldepledge3790]

Let's just take a moment to consider the achievement of getting 750 hp out of a 2-litre engine. That is some serious boost from the turbocharger. I vaguely remember 1986. The accident in Portugal had been an accident-in-waiting for years. Crowd control there was especially abysmal. Some of the other rallies in southern Europe were not much better, but Portugal was especially bad. Before Toivonen's accident in Corsica, group B might have had a chance of survival if the various rally organisers started taking spectator safety seriously. (Actually enforcing control of the crowd instead of just printing "motorsport is dangerous" on the back of every ticket.) Obviously, after Corsica, group B was done. I remember an interview with (I think) Stig Blomqvist in which he pointed out that they were racing down the same stages with 500 hp that they had been driving with 130 hp just a year or two earlier.

[@danijuggernaut]

Thanks for the video, very interesting. You forgot to show us Marc Surer´s brutal accident crashing against a tree, splitting the RS200 in two pieces surrounded by a ball of flames. The copilot died, very, very impacting.

[@automobilistic]

Yes I have seen the video. I chose not to include it because it didnt happen in the WRC, and I didnt want to shoehorn it in for the sake of it. Not to mention my apprehension about potential restrictions on my video for showing it

[@Rich77UK]

One of Ford's finest ever cars. The RS200 may have been late, not successful but boy, its good looking, pant wettingly fast and more desirable than any other group B car.

[@MCH-23.Quintus]

It's literally the ugliest Group B car. 💀

[@dannyx2737]

Rs200 and the 6r4 are my favourite cars. So bonkers

[@TheLRider]

Intro to your video, Ari Vatanen in the black Escort was absolutely awsome. The fasted Group 4 "Works" Escort ever built by Dave Sutton. I was there when Ari got a bit too carried away on the IOM.

[@andyjohnson4767]

Also Ari's favourite Escort, direct from Ari

[@richardlehoux]

Great informative video with amazing footage. Please continue the good work

[@chrisanilasy]

Gran turismo vibes on the background music

[@a92gsxdsm]

Congrats mate!! 11k subs!! Thanks again for another stellar video!

[@automobilistic]

Thanks!!

[@torque-drive2488]

This is my favorite group b car

[@claywoodslim1511]

Martin Schanche did win the European Rallycross Championship with the RS200 in 91. He also finished 2nd 3 years in a row the years before.

[@originalforgery]

In defence of Reliant.... Back in the late 70's, early 80's Reliant were the countries largest, most experienced and arguably most expert manufacturers of GRP body shells. Our local news paper, the Tamworth Herald would run weekly adverts from the likes of Williams / McLaren etc, looking for experienced guys in composites.... I remember the RS200's being assembled in Shenstone near Lichfield and road tested on the A5.

[@originalforgery]

Worth also remembering the RS200 was built purely for racing - not being a silhouette of an existing model (although Essex plod would trial one which was entertaining at the time). The 6R4's Audi's, Peugeot's Maxi 5's etc were all very loosely based on production cars......sort of...!

[@michconnor5304]

I love the rs200 it looks and sounds so cool definitely a dream car of mine just to have it

[@StrangerYann]

woah that 700HP RS200 is a beauty

[@r0b3rt_959]

Can we consider Corvette Racing's run on GT racing for future videos?

[@Leevtie]

I love that you used the gran turismo 2 music!

[@BrainDamageComedy]

this is the channel for me, nice one!

[@edgarpoe517]

Great video, really informative.

[@wieldylattice3015]

You know you made something special when it simultaneously looks like a Porsche and its own original design

[@slashmatt]

I was there as a kid in San Antonio and saw the crash referenced. My father was keen to tell me about the insane value of the RS200, something like $500k in 1988. It blew my mind.

[@golach420]

The poor spectator control was key in ending Group B. Kids could have done better.

[@danielmartin5515]

Love the inclusion of the east city music from gt2

[@jondrizzle4554]

Martin schanche was a legend in european rallycross in an rs200 It won numerous British titles and European and was one of the most successful group b cars in rallycross

[@coolguy13333]

This car is so cool it’s like a modern peice in the 80s

[@ianmangham4570]

Group B was just the best ever ,amazing times as a young teenager, Christmas 🎄 it would snow ❄ back then 🤟🇬🇧💯👍 and the world cup games were the best EVER 💯🇬🇧🤠🤟

[@kalleklp7291]

What a beautiful machine. The '70s and '80s rallies were just crazy! The non-existent spectator safety and the tuning of the cars to ridiculous numbers were what killed it. Audi made its entrance with the Audi Quattro piloted by Walther Röhrl and 450 Hp, later even with a ridiculous + 500 Hp. However, it was fun to watch back then when these small cars flew over hills and drifted through corners. :)

[@grahamhowland566]

The RS200 was fairly successful in rallycross and in the hands of the likes of Trevor Hopkins, Mark Renison, Martin Schance etc in the late 80s/early 90s were an awesome thing to watch along with various other ex group B cars 😀👍🏼

[@MrWolf-xk8sl]

Ford is a strange company. There's an interview with the legendary Miki Biason, driver of Lancia in those years, and he stated that after he left Lancia to join Ford, they snobbed him and his mechanical advices despite of him winning 6 world rally championships in a row with the Delta. He said at Lancia, they were always trying out the car and he specifically was almost 24/7 making adjustments to tailor the car to his style of driving, that's why Lancia was so successful, but in Ford they had this "big factory" mentality in which they had different pre-made ready-to-go cars for every different stage and rally, which nobody even tried on the specific course.

[@mattwalker529]

Pretty sure the rs200 won many national events where group b was allowed to continue and was not a failure at all

[@davidrobertson5700]

That was a wee beastie, they had one in Dees in Croydon when I worked for BT , I was lucky enough to be allowed to sit in it. Tiny little thing too I thought it was a model of one . In white it looked cute I wonder who bought that car because I revved the engine up before you 😂

[@mattmanley7118]

Legendary car for sure

[@2552legoboy]

My Uncle had one of these. He apparently blew the engine pretty quickly, there was a boost nob in the cockpit… only 1500 miles. He got it replaced by Ford… you can look it up if your keen his names Sebastian Conran RS200

[@markholroyde9412]

You are right about there being a "knob" in the car....he blew it up LOL.

[@ThatCarGuy1983]

Thanks for this i really enjoyed it i'm new here i subbed I was looking through your library and have a suggestion could you possibly make a video on the history of the ford sierra RS cosworth rally and touring that would be amazing and an excellent addition to the library... Thanks! 👍🏻

[@automobilistic]

I'll add it to the list! And I'm glad you're enjoying the videos

[@ThatCarGuy1983]

@@automobilistic I am indeed and thank you ❤️

[@DIAMONDBACK__6]

one of my fave cars to whip in Forza Horizon 1! so fun

[@marklanahan7289]

I used to do building work for FMC and can remember seeing a literal shedload of these parked up at their South Ockendon plant back in the day. I was told they were being assessed by the Met as chase cars to stop the Yuppies ragging their Porches round the M25 every night. Happy days!

[@dirk6001]

It was crazy then and it it still crazy

[@markifi]

great video well done

[@myperspective5091]

👍I always loved that car.👍

[@dfcvda]

I had the 6R4 utter beast, wish I never got rid of it.

[@christianbuczko1481]

There was only meant to be 200, i think most were made and sold. They did well in events. They werent a failure.. in fact they were awesome for the time.

[@KRAZEEIZATION]

The Lancia Delta was a frightening looking car that only the bravest could drive.

[@jestami]

Despite the history of this car. Its in my top 5.

[@SlipdeGarcondeJour]

My old man had 4 x road ones of these as company cars for a few years from Boreham. I drove the single red one shortly my driving test... shockingly badly!