RS200: Ford's Group B Rally Legend Hardcover – 28 Nov. 2020

The RS 200 is an 80's car that has always looked good to me. I was aware of some aspects of it's development, but this is a detailed account of how it came about, by a well known author who was partly involved it the development. The car was conceived as a contender for the notorious Group B rallying class, which had almost no rules, other than 200 of any car had to be made. This led to a development "war" amongst several manufacturers to produce some rally machines with insane amounts of power and which were almost uncontrollable at high speed. After a number of accidents, Group B was abandoned at the end of 1986, leaving cars like the RS200 with nowhere to compete. The book details how the car came into being, but that development took longer than first envisaged. With the cancellation of the class in which it was to compete, Ford was left with a number of cars, some of which had to offered to the public. The price was almost four times the cost of the Granada, the most expensive car Ford sold in the mid-80's, and Ford struggled to shift the remaining RS200's. Several did find some success in Club rallying and Rallycross over the next few years. An enjoyable book, with plenty of pictures showing how development progressed. Recommended.

Mega book for Group B fans.

Nice sized quality hardback book should last well even with lots of looking at the brilliant pictures and reading the story of probably the best group B rally car to have ever been

Hubby enjoyed reading this book

Fantastic book

I have had an interest in the Group B rally cars for many years and have a variety of books on the subject. Graham Robson rightfully has a strong reputation as an automotive author and historian, and has proven his abilities once again with this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and for me it struck the right balance of history, design, development and motorsport history. Graham provided the context going back to Ford's stillborn efforts following the demise of the MKII Escort, and the logic behind the specifications for the sort of vehicle needed to be competitive with the rapidly evolving Group B class. The fact that Graham was intimately involved with the RS200 project throughout and drove one as daily transport for a number of years was just the icing on the cake, as he was able to write authoritatively from first hand experience. Conversely the book is not just a solo effort - Graham has drawn upon his longstanding network and friendships to provide perspectives and detail from other people with intimate knowledge of the car. I highly recommend this book.

Buenísimo