Ford RS200 to return as 'remastered' icon
British firm announces deal with Ford to create 'blueprint-accurate' continuation cars
Of all the cars we’d like to return from historical dormancy, the RS200 ranks very highly. Who wouldn’t want to be reintroduced to the car that Ford custom-made to go Group B rallying? A tiny, flyweight mid-engined tearaway with a composite body and all-wheel drive and a Cosworth-built engine? Talk about of its time - both then and now. Clearly we’re not alone either because Ford has come to a licensing agreement with a British firm to ‘produce and remaster a series of some of [its] most historically significant road, race and rally icons.’ Guess where it will start.
Timed to coincide with its 40th anniversary, the ‘entirely new, ground-up build’ of the road-legal RS200 will be revealed before the end of the year. That’s essentially it in terms of details for now, although the accompanying teaser pics are likely to get any devout Blue Oval fan into a right tizzy on the basis that, LED lights aside, fidelity with the original is obviously paramount, and its maker alludes to the layout, AWD and lightweight construction as key components of the RS200’s identity. So expect those to feature, too.
The company in question is Boreham Motorworks, which calls itself the high-performance and racing division of the DRVN Automotive Group - an umbrella that already covers (among others) Alan Mann Racing and JE Motorworks. Beyond the RS200, the deal with Ford will allow the company to create ‘blueprint-accurate, period-sympathetic vehicles with continuation VIN numbers’ in what you can be sure is ‘very limited’ volume.
“From the first time we met with Boreham Motorworks and the DRVN team, it was clear that they had an exciting vision for how to bring some of our most iconic historical nameplates to life for the modern era,” reckoned Will Ford, General Manager, Ford Performance Motorsports. “It will be exciting to see this relationship flourish and to see how Boreham Motorworks brings the vision to life at a time when there is so much passion from enthusiasts for great experiences.”
Alongside the RS200, the team is planning to unveil a Mk1 Escort - likely buoyed by the thumbs-up response that greeted the MST take when it was revealed in 2021. Its legendary status as a ’60s-era road and rally icon likely ensured it a place at the head of the queue, but Boreham reckons it has ‘at least five further iconic Ford Vehicles’ in the works as part of its forthcoming continuation series. It is already inviting registrations of interest, and says that customers will receive an invitation-only membership to ‘The Boreham High Performance Club’ which caters for ‘likeminded individuals’ in terms of global driving experiences.
“We are thrilled to embark on this journey with Ford Motor Company and kickstart a series that will redefine and remaster these icons of the past,” commented Darren McDermott, Executive Chairman, DRVN Automotive Group. “We aim to redefine automotive innovation and push the boundaries in terms of driver engagement and design. Our shared commitment to this incredible project will create an outstanding analogue driving experience and leave a lasting legacy for the true petrolhead.”
But... based on recent re-imaginings of old, revered cars, I fear the maker won't be able to resist the temptation to double the original power output, put wheels on it 6 inches bigger than the shape was designed for, expand it subtly in every direction to accommodate safety features without which we'd be killed and fill it with electrickery. That's not to say it won't look great, or be a fabulous thing to own, but how much will it actually resemble an RS200 when done?
It could end up like one of those silhouette racers from the seventies, which looked like a Skoda Coupe but was a Formula 5000 car underneath. And thus unusable on anything other than a race track.
I guess we'll have to wait and see, once they give us a render without a car cover on it
Thing is, you can buy a really nice one now for about £250k which, needless to say, is a lot more than we got we we sold it 15 years ago when there was no interest in these whatsoever. Suspect the restowhatever will be a lot more than this.
I think I would prefer an original.
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