Mid-Derbyshire Motor Club at the Derby Motor Fest

Club Chairman Rob Stanesby brought his historic rally specification 1969 MGBGT whilst Jason Simms brought his 1600cc 2019 Ford Fiesta rally car. Simon Walsh also brought his MGZR with a modified 1400cc engine. But the star car on display was a replica of the Ford RS200, an iconic rally car from the 1980s which its owner Jonathan Marshall allowed the club to display.

This replica was developed by a company named RS Motorsport with the agreement of Ford. It is built on a spaceframe chassis based around the Ford Sierra and the YB engine is taken directly from the Ford Sierra Cosworth. The gearbox is an Audi five speed unit.

Many Ford numbered parts are used but no body panel is allowed to fit the original car. It is therefore two inches longer and wider than the original. The difference in size in minimal and the car looks fantastic and it would be very difficult to notice such a difference. It attracted many, many people to the stand.

The car developed by RS Motorsport had the rear engine cover hinging at the back of the car. However, in order to increase the authentic look Jonathan spent many hours fabricating a system where the rear engine cover hinged directly behind the cockpit in the same way that the original car did.

The original RS200 was built by Ford to take on the Audi Quattro which changed the face of rallying in the 1980s as well as the Lancia Delta S4, the Peugeot 205T16 and MG Metro 6R4. These cars were so fast that they eventually had to be banned for the sake of both spectator and competitor safety but to this day they still attract an awful lot of attention.

Club Chairman Rob said “The RS200 has gone down a storm! Everyone is looking at it.

Mid-Derbyshire Motor club would like to take this opportunity to thank Jonathan for agreeing to show his car.